Time is of the Essence
by RiverofWind
Summary: What would happen if Harry and Ginny were accidentally sent to the time of the Marauders? Better yet, what would the reactions of the fueding James Potter and Lily Evans be? Will this permanently screw up the time stream?
1. Chapter 1: Racing the Sun

_**RoW**: I've got nothing important to say. Read on, dear readers, read on. Oh, and review, or I will hunt you down and . . . and . . . oh forget it. Just review, please._

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_**The Marauders - Sixth Year**_

"C'mon, Wormtail!" Sirius Black shouted over his shoulder. "I swear, you're the slowest rat I've ever seen!"

Peter Pettigrew shook his head at his friend and put on a burst of determined speed, though it didn't help. The two were running across the Hogwarts grounds toward the castle, and Sirius had his mind set on reaching it before the sun set.

"Padfoot! Why can't you slow down for at least one minute?" Peter whined, his short, stout legs getting slower by the second.

"Wormtail, I'm done arguing with you. Now, I want to get to the castle before sunset!" Sirius yelled.

Peter sighed but kept running.

After a few minutes, what seemed like hours to Peter, they reached the big wooden doors of the school. Sirius glanced toward the horizon and saw that the sun still had a way to go before it disappeared for the night. He grinned triumphantly.

"I told him I could do it, but did he believe me? No! Well, time to catch him!" Sirius said, grinning mischievously as he took off again toward Gryffindor Tower. Peter let out an exasperated breath before following suit. He wondered what Sirius had meant by "time to catch him". Peter knew who "he" was, though what Sirius wanted to catch him at was a mystery.

In front of him, he saw Sirius halt in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. Peter finally caught up to him just when he was giving the password.

"Tyt – oomph!" Peter had ran into Sirius' back at top speed, almost knocking him on the floor.

"Sorry." Peter said quietly as Sirius eyed him with annoyance. "Maybe if you had slowed down in the first place..." Peter added under his breath.

Sirius shook his head. "As I was saying, Tytonidae." The Fat Lady swung open to let them in and without hesitation, Sirius clambered through as fast as he could. Peter followed with another sigh.

"Now," Sirius said, scanning the Common Room, " If I were an oversized cow, where would I hide?"

He looked at the students sitting comfortably in the red cushioned chairs and then at the stairs leading to the dorms. His face split into a grin. "Ah, if I was an oversized cow, I would hide in the most obvious place!" This said, he made his way toward the stone stairs and quietly padded up them toward the boy's side. Before opening the Sixth Year boy's dormitory, Sirius turned to Peter and held his finger to his mouth, unnecessarily shushing him. Peter was grinning, and could barely keep himself from laughing out loud. Sirius rolled his eyes and turning back to the door, slowly pulled it open.

The room was rather large, containing 4 four-poster beds arranged in a circle against the walls. The bed curtains, sheets, and almost everything else was coloured red and gold – Gryffindor colours. The beds were empty, except for one. Sirius cursed under his breath and Peter let out a breath of disappointment.

The person sitting on the bed directly across from them was grinning triumphantly at their reactions. "Can I help you?" He said, barely able to keep a straight face.

Sirius was looking at his feet, his face flushed in anger and his hands flexing. Peter looked from one to the other, a blank look on his face.

"How the hell did you...when...I thought...damn." Sirius finally managed, confusion replacing the anger in his eyes.

"We thought you were..." Peter started, but James cut him off.

"You thought I was what?"

"Well, we thought you were with Evans. I mean, come on! Why else would you have us run all the way from Hogsmeade trying to beat the sun? That's obviously a "Lose Padfoot and Wormtail" plan that you'd think up. And since Moony was gone anyway, he wouldn't have interrupted, now would he? That left us to get rid of." Sirius explained, a note of annoyance in his voice. Peter nodded in silent agreement.

James' smile grew wider. "Oh, honestly. I wouldn't get rid of you two because of a girl."

Sirius rolled his eyes and Peter made a face. _Of course he would_, was what they were both thinking.

"So, did you make it?" James asked in a mildly interested tone, which confirmed Sirius and Peter's suspicions.

"Of course we did! Really, Prongs, next time you want to get rid of us, try thinking harder. That was so easy it was almost sad!" Sirius said mockingly.

James Potter rolled his own hazel eyes at his friend. "Oh, don't worry. I will."

Just then, another boy walked into the dormitory.

Sirius turned, as did Peter at the new boy's arrival. "So, how was detention, Moony?" Sirius asked with a grin.

Remus Lupin looked at Sirius and smirked. "It wasn't that bad, except McGonagall had me change all the quills back. I guess she doesn't like caterpillars all that much." He said, repressing the urge to laugh.

James, Sirius, and Peter all burst out laughing at Remus' comment, the memory of it still fresh in their brains. Earlier that morning, they had transfigured all of McGonagall's quills into furry white caterpillars. She had only caught Remus, and the answer that got him a detention still made them laugh.

_"What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Lupin?" McGonagall asked sternly._

_Remus looked at her innocently. "I was transfiguring. This is Transfiguration."_

"Seriously, Moony, you need to practice your escapes! Even the best mischief maker is nothing if he can't get away from the scene of the crime. Have I taught you nothing?" James fake scolded.

Remus pulled a face. "No, actually you haven't taught me anything, Prongs. I learned all I know by myself."

"That would explain why you got a detention in the first place! Really, for a second there, I thought I was losing my touch." James stopped and snickered.

"I'd say you lost it a long time ago, mate, judging by the way you got rid of us this morning." Sirius said mockingly at James.

James stopped laughing and looked at Sirius with a grin. "And yet you still fell for it."

Sirius was about to reply when Remus looked at James curiously and asked, "What are you two talking about?"

Sirius scowled while James told Remus about the day's event. When he had finished, Remus looked over at Sirius with a glint in his grey eyes. "So, you're even more gullible than I thought, Padfoot."

"Shove off."

"Nah, I don't think I'm going to. It'll make good blackmail sometime." Lupin said with a grin.

"So, were you with Lily, Prongs?" Lupin asked, turning to James. James fell silent as they all looked at him curiously.

"Well...Good Night!" He finally said with an evil smile. The other three looked at each other in amazement, then shrugged. They knew the answer, anyway.

Putting his glasses on the table beside his bed, James reflected on the day.

He had been in Hogsmeade with Padfoot and Wormtail, when Lily Evans came up to him and said hello, or something. He couldn't explain it, but whenever she was around, he couldn't pay attention to anything but her striking bottle-green eyes. Never had he seen eyes so bright, so _green_. They were amazing. Anyway, when she had talked to him, he had suddenly wanted to be alone with her, without the other two tagalongs. So, he had come up with the plan to have Padfoot and Wormtail run from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, starting as soon as the sun started setting. It had seemed clever to him at the time.

He and Lily had walked back to Hogwarts, talking about school, their families, Quidditch, and some other things. Then, they had gotten all quiet, and James couldn't help looking at her. She had looked so pretty, with the sun silhouetting her features and the wind gently blowing her red hair. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but one minute they were walking in comfortable silence, the next, well, he was bending down and planting his lips on hers. Her eyes had widened in shock, then she relaxed and kissed him back. After what seemed like forever, they broke apart. Lily had looked at him with a strange expression he couldn't read in her shining eyes. Then, he noticed the sun, how it had begun to set, and he grabbed her hand and they made a beeline for the castle, not stopping until they reached the Gryffindor Tower. There, he bade her farewell and ran up the dormitory steps three at a time, making his way to his bed, where he plopped himself down. Only a few minutes went by before Padfoot and Wormtail burst in the door, wearing stupid grins and looking for dirt. That was pretty much it.

James sighed at remembering that kiss, then turned on his side and fell asleep.

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_**RoW: **Now, review. _


	2. Chapter 2: 2 am Revelations

_**Author's Note: A few errors were pointed out to me and I (painfully, since I loathe this chapter) went through and fixed them (I hope). Thanks to twilighthp95 for the tip.**_

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_**The Boy Who Lived - Seventh Year**_

The dark grey sky frowned gloomily at Hogwarts. For days, nothing but roiling winds, heavy rain, and dark clouds had covered the sky. The weather completely matched the mood of one particular seventeen-year-old wizard by the name of Harry Potter.

Sitting in the Common Room of Gryffindor Tower, Harry gazed out the window in a depressed slump. His eyes were dull, lacking any of the former happiness that had graced his younger years at Hogwarts. Now, things were extremely complicated, what with Voldemort preparing to strike the Final Battle and Harry, Ron, and Hermione going of every once in a while to look for Horcruxes.

Harry sighed, fogging up the glass of the window. He absent mindedly rubbed it off. Dumbledore's death the previous year had also stirred up complications. Hogwarts had only reopened after Professor McGonagall took up as Headmistress. Harry, Hermione, and Ron hadn't even planned on attending their seventh year at the school, but had reluctantly changed plans at the last minute.

There was a loud thump as Harry's forehead hit the windowpane. The force sent his mind reeling back to reality. He looked around the empty Common Room; it was nearly two in the morning, and everyone had gone to bed hours ago. Satisfied that he was still alone, he turned back to the rain-soaked horizon out the window.

Harry inhaled sharply as he heard the soft, almost silent pad of feet on the floor. He whipped around to see a quick flash of red before it vanished. He slowly stood up and moved to a chair, not taking his eyes off the spot where the red had disappeared.

Sure enough, he felt the seat sink slightly as another person sat on it next to him, though he couldn't see anyone.

Harry rolled his lusterless eyes. "Can I help you?"

"No need to snap," came the small, slightly annoyed reply. The seemingly empty air in the seat next to Harry wrinkled and the Invisibility Cloak fell, revealing the frustrated freckled face of Ginny Weasley. She looked at Harry, who had turned his head back toward the window. "Sorry, but you had just left it, so . . ."

"Gin, I just want to be alone," he whispered. The truth was, he was still upset about having broken up with her the previous year at Dumbledore's funeral. That, and the weight of the Wizarding World was entirely on his shoulders.

"I know, but I don't care," Ginny said firmly. "Harry, you're letting this get the better of you. You never let it before!" She looked up at him, urging him to listen.

Harry quickly turned his head to face her. "It's different now!" His green eyes, darker than usual, held a burning anger that Ginny had never seen before.

"Harry, if you're going to let Voldemort get to you like this, then he's winning this war," her voice was shaking, which caused the anger in Harry's eyes to melt away and be replaced with sadness.

"Ginny, I . . ." Harry started, but stopped, unable to continue. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Harry, I told you, I understand about us, okay?"

"But I don't even think _I_ do! Was is really the right choice?" He asked quietly.

Ginny shook her head. "I can't answer that for you, Harry."

He looked down at her, with her bright, tearful brown eyes, and sighed. He really did love her. "Damn, Gin," he managed a tiny smile. "Why do you always do this to me?"

Ginny let out a small laugh. "I guess it's because deep down, you know it doesn't really protect me from Voldemort? That this whole charade of a break up won't help in the slightest?"

Harry stared at her. Then, to both Ginny's and his own surprise, he genuinely smiled. "You know what? You're right."

"Right about what?"

Harry didn't answer, he simply leaned down and kissed her. When they broke apart, they were both grinning. Harry's eyes seemed to have gained back their emerald green colour, as well.

"So, now what?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Er, we go to sleep? It is rather late . . . or early," Harry said, looking at his watch.

"But what about, well, us? We haven't really even talked in—"

"Don't worry, Gin. We'll have plenty of time tomorrow."

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	3. Chapter 3: Why, Padfoot?

**The Marauders - Sixth Year**

"So, Prongs," Sirius said slyly at breakfast. The four were seated in the vast Great Hall at the end of the Gryffindor table. "How was Evans yesterday?"

James narrowed his hazel eyes at his best friend. It seemed Sirius was unwilling to let yesterday's events go, much to James' chagrin. Instead of answering he busied himself with the Daily Prophet.

"Stuff it, Padfoot," Remus sighed, not looking up from his porridge.

Sirius stared at him for a moment before changing tactics. "Hey, it's almost full moon, innit?" The note of excitement in his voice was not lost on any of them - especially Lupin.

"Yeah, Padfoot, it is almost full moon. I bet you're real happy, aren't you? After all, you get to lope around as a dog in a painless transformation." Remus' voice was tight and his eyes were nothing but dark grey slits. Sirius recoiled as if he'd been slapped, eyes wide in surprise.

"Moony, you know I didn't . . . What I meant was . . . You know that . . . Damn."

"Hey!"

James, who had been pointedly staying separate from the argument, had caught something in the newspaper.

Time Turner Tumult

Time - Traveling Accident Rate Sky Rockets

"So? Just one of those weird-arse stories that don't make the front page," Sirius said, raising a dark eyebrow.

James shook his head, mussing up his already messy hair. "No, listen:

As of last month the number of time-traveling incidents has increased ten fold, according to Ministry of Magic officials. The Department of Mysteries, the source of the Wizarding Community's Time Turners, is unsure as to how the accidents keep happening. 'We think that there is a great possibility that past Time Turner problems have altered the future, which would explain the strange occurrences,' one Unspeakable reported. 'If someone had changed the time stream, it may have caused an irreversible continuum for these Time Turner related accidents.'

The Unspeakables are still trying to find how the victims of the recent incidents appeared in the Department of Mysteries Time Center in the first place, as it has been widely unknown how to navigate the labyrinth that is the Department of Mysteries, excluding Unspeakables. 'If someone from the future were to find their way accidentally to our time period, the results could be catastrophic.' With this news in mind, are Time Turners really needed for (cont. Page 8)

"I still don't get it," Sirius said, staring at the picture above the headline, which showed an Unspeakable with a Time Turner, explaining how it worked to reporters.

"The future . . . wouldn't that be weird? Someone who is years away." James stared at the article, a far away look on his face.

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, weird. I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon, Prongs."

"Usually the accidents are minutes away from where the victim started, or at the most weeks. I don't think anyone's gone back by years on accident." Remus had flipped to page 8 to read the rest of the story.

"That doesn't mean it can't happen," James said stubbornly. "Wait, where's Wormtail?"

Peter had disappeared from his chair next to Remus.

Sirius made a noise in his throat. "Ah, he's a sneaky little rat, isn't he? Oh well, he'll be back. Rodents always return to where there's food."

James looked at his watch and groaned. "Well, time for my favourite subject."

As Sirius and Lupin watched James' retreating back, Sirius asked confusedly, "What is his favourite subject?"

"Potions. You know how Slughorn is, doting on every famous wizard or witch. James isn't a right hand at the subject, either. He's more of a Charmer."

The dungeons were always dark, cold and wet, which made James' skin prickle with goose-pimples. Potions was the only class he walked alone to, always choosing to arrive earlier than the other Marauders. His main reason for doing so bumped into him on the stairs and sent him sprawling on the icy stone floor.

Picking up his glasses and his books in a huff, he looked around angrily for the clumsy person, and his heart stopped. Sitting on her knees retrieving her dropped schoolbooks was Lily Evans. He saw one of her books at his feet and picked it up, examining the cover. Gringotts: Inside and Out, it read.

"Sorry, I didn't see you at all, and you were walking rather slow, so I . . . I . . . oh." Lily stopped as she realised who she had knocked over. Her face flushed scarlet as she stood and reached out to take the book from James.

"Gringotts?" He asked curiously. "Why so interested in the bank, Evans?"

She smiled, which made his stomach flip. "I want to be a Curse-Breaker, so I thought I'd read up on Gringotts. It's really interesting." She stuffed the book in her bag.

"Really? That's strange."

Lily frowned. "Why? It's a perfectly acceptable career choice, and I–"

James put a hand up to silence her. "I meant it was strange because that was what I wanted to do. I just don't read up on it."

"Oh," Lily's eyes sparkled and she beamed. "For a second there, you had me thinking you thought it was a stupid job."

"Shouldn't we go to class?"

Lily glanced at her watch and gasped. "You're right! We're almost late!" She grabbed his hand (his heart fluttered so much he thought he was having a heart attack) and dragged him into the steamy potions room. They separated to sit at their tables; James next to a smirking Sirius and Lily by her brunette friend.

The whole lesson went on slowly, and James was getting annoyed quickly by Sirius' whispered love poems. When the bell finally rang, he jumped up from his chair and bolted out the door. Sirius stared after him a moment before gathering his stuff.

"Where did James go?" Lily asked Sirius, who looked up in mild surprise.

"Why are you asking me, Evans? I would think that you kept an eye on him." Sirius was not trying to be spiteful, it was just how he came off. His friends all knew he was joking, but others . . . well, they usually didn't. He could tell by Lily's expression that she was one who didn't know his sense of humour.

"Er . . . no, I don't. What's the problem?" She was quickly forming a bad opinion of him, and he knew it.

Sirius snorted. "Nothing, nothing. Go find your fancy. If I were you, though, I'd steer clear of the bookish manner."

"What? Oh honestly. True, I've been hateful toward you and your lot in the past, but I'm being conversational now. You need to grow up. Tell James that I don't want to talk to him, especially if he has the same opinions of me as you." With that said, she stalked out of the room. Sirius hitched his bag over his shoulder and was about to leave before he stopped cold, having been thinking hard.

"Prongs is going to kill me."

"PADFOOT!"

Sirius jumped from where he was sitting, under the willow tree by the lake. He slowly, apprehensively turned his head to see a fuming James stalking toward him from the castle. He quickly looked at the ground, cursing his earlier comments to Lily and his own stupidity.

James stopped a few feet from where Sirius was, staring down at him in anger. "What did you do?"

Sirius slowly looked up at his friend. "What d'you mean?" His voice was unnaturally high, much to his horror.

"What do I mean? What do I mean? You said something to Lily! She just walked up to me in the Great Hall and told me off!"

Sirius cursed under his breath. "Er . . . Prongs . . . well, I . . ."

"You what?"

Sirius told him what had happened in the dungeons. James eyes grew wider and darker as Sirius got further into his explanation, and when he was finished, James looked livid.

"What were you thinking? Did you want her to hate me, because she does. Thanks, Padfoot. You're a real arse." He stomped back toward the castle, leaving a melancholy Sirius standing in his wake.


	4. Chapter 4: Seven Turns

_**The Boy Who Lived - Seventh Year**_

"You can't be serious." Harry stared at her, a look of disbelief on his face.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come on, Harry! What other choice do we have?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, how about _talk to him about it_?"

"Yes, because Ron's always been the sociable type."

"Ginny, it seems like an awfully stupid reason to go back in time. What if we just told Ron . . ." Harry stopped, unable to think of anything to say to dissuade her. That morning, they'd been kissing under the willow tree near the lake. It had been much-needed bliss for Harry, but the moment had been immediately shattered when Ron caught them. They'd run before he could get a word out, face purple enough to rival Vernon Dursley.

They hadn't told anyone of their getting back together, Ron least of all. He hadn't been happy with their relationship to begin with. But now, Ginny wanted to fix that.

"Harry, it's simple: we take a time turner, go back to this morning and make sure Ron doesn't catch us. If we don't, we'll never hear the end of it!"

Harry thought a moment. "One problem: all the time turners are gone, remember? When we were in the Department of Mysteries, we broke them all."

Ginny was not convinced. "What about the one Hermione used third year?"

"You want to sneak into McGonagall's office for a bloody _time turner_?!"

"Yes."

Harry blinked. "You're crazy, Gin."

Ginny shook her head, exasperated. "Harry, if we get the time turner and make sure Ron doesn't find us, then we can avoid his pratiness. I hate how we have to deal with him just because we were _kissing_. Do you see the stupidity of this like I do?"

Sighing, Harry ran his hand through his hair, eyes rolling to the ceiling. He could tell that he was defeated. He took a breath before replying slowly, "If we get caught . . ."

Ginny's face broke into a grin. "We won't."

The door to McGonagall's office opened silently, as if the wind had blown through. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen nothing. No one was watching, however, and Harry and Ginny, under the Invisibility Cloak, were safely inside the office. Shutting the door as quietly as he had opened it, Harry pulled off the Cloak and cast it aside - in sight - for emergency use.

"Harry?" Ginny whispered, a slight note of urgency in her voice. Harry made sure to pull his wand out his back pocket before looking up.

"Yeah?"

"The portraits," Ginny hissed. "Won't they–"

"Well of course they _could_ tell, but why would they do that? Especially when they are all asleep?"

It wasn't Harry who had interrupted Ginny, but another voice. The two students whipped their heads around to stare, dumb-founded, at the large portrait behind McGonagall's desk. Elegantly framed, the picture held a beaming, bespectacled man who sat in an armchair, looking at them both merrily.

"_Professor Dumbledore_?"

Dumbledore chuckled quietly. "I've been wondering when you would get here. There's no need to explain yourselves," he added hastily, seeing Ginny open her mouth to speak, "I already know."

They glanced at each other in confusion. "How?"

"You told me, of course."

They only had a second to ponder the strangeness of the statement before Dumbledore began speaking, more urgently, again. "Harry, Ginny, you don't have much time. Take the Time-Turner, it's in the third drawer on the right. Put the chain around both of your necks, turn the hourglass over seven times - once for each hour - and _go_! Professor McGonagall is coming."

Harry grabbed the Time-Turner and the Invisibility Cloak, tugged the chain around both his and Ginny's neck, and did exactly as Dumbledore had instructed, turning the minuscule hourglass upside-down seven times. On the seventh turn, he felt that long-forgotten tug around his neck, and he and Ginny were whisked through time. The last thing he saw was Dumbledore's face, an odd mixture of relief, as well as pensiveness, lining his old features.

"Was that them?" McGonagall asked as she came in through the office door. Clad in a plaid dressing-gown, she sat at her desk and looked at Dumbledore's portrait, anxiety plastered on her face.

"Yes, Minerva. I couldn't remember exactly when they'd show up, otherwise you'd have been better warned." Dumbledore smiled weakly before letting his features slide into a frown. "They know nothing."

McGonagall shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "You gave them the special Time-Turner, then?"

"They think they're going back to this morning, seven hours previously. However, I have sent them back to 1976: exactly 21 years into the past."

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Author's Note: _So, what did you think of this altering chappie? I finally came up with something that got Harry and Ginny to Marauder Era! And though it is sooo cheesy, I could not come up with another! Deal with it. Act like its a set-in-print HP book that you cannot change because the author wrote it that way. Oh, and I hope you appreciate my math and research. I'm dreadful at math and it took me forever to check over the whole year to year thing. "Okay, 1997 minus 1976 equals, no, wait, is it really 12? No, no, last time I got 21. Damn." I was also having difficulties with the whole Time-Turner-ing. I took vast amounts of 'data' from the HP-Lexicon (thank Dumbledore for the lexicon! Without which I would die) mostly the dates of the Marauders and Harry's 7th year. I got confused. Naturally. I kept forgetting the dates, too. _

_Lately I've been busy, and once again I apologise for my lateness. I'm a severely-obsessed person, for three books, not just one. Along with my computer issues, I had this really long His Dark Materials fan-base trial that I am still half-way sunk in. The Golden Compass movie was brilliant, could have ended better, though. I'm sick of controversy. It never helps the fan-base. Look at Harry Potter - it 'promotes witchcraft and child-killing'. Do any of you readers think such a thing? Hopefully not, otherwise this is a very strange, awkward situation to be in, innit?_


	5. Chapter 5: Time Turner Tumult

**_RoW: Okay, so you have to love me now, right? I give you two whole (as opposed to . . . ?) chapters in the space of a day! Yay! I said yay because it rhymed. Okay, so, I better get loads of reviews because it is now officially 2:18 a.m. standard central time, and I am tired, and I _still_ wrote this chapter. Here you go! Enjoy!_**

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_**Chapter Five: Time-Turner Tumult**_

Sirius had never experienced a gloomier day at Hogwarts. James was refusing to speak to him, and the other Marauders had no idea what had happened between them. Sirius also had Lily Evans' anger to deal with, which did nothing for his mood.

"Padfoot!"

Sirius turned slowly, half-hoping that it was James calling. That hope was extinguished when he saw Remus walking toward him, a determined look on his face.

"What do you want, Moony?"

Remus stopped in front of him, sizing him up with a glance from his grey eyes. "I'm not sure I should be asking, because I'll probably regret it later, but I have to. What happened between you and Prongs?"

Sirius turned away, starting to walk again. "No idea what you're talking about."

"None at all?" Remus made a noise in his throat. "Funny, but lately you two haven't exactly been on 'speaking terms', as opposed to the nonstop chatter. Not to mention your annoying sullenness. So, I'm going to ask again: what happened?"

"I made a huge mistake, okay?" Sirius' voice cracked. "I spoke without thinking, and it came back to bite me. Now Prongs hates me, and it's all my fault."

Remus regarded Sirius for a moment before speaking again. "What did you do?"

Sirius didn't look up as he replied in a quiet voice, "I spoke badly to Evans."

"Why? What has she done to you?"

"Nothing, but Prongs fancies her, and he always talks about her, and lately they've been spending loads of time together, and I guess I . . . I . . . I don't know."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're jealous! You can't stand him spending so much time with someone else, can you?"

Sirius growled indignantly. "Of course I can. I am not _jealous_! I spoke like I usually do."

"Stupidly?"

"No!" Sirius said. "I talked like I talk to you, or Prongs, or Wormtail. She took it personally, though."

"Anyone would."

Sirius stared at him, mouth agape, before continuing. "D'you know where Prongs is?"

"Why?"

"I want to try to fix this damned mess!"

Remus thought a moment. "No, I don't."

"Thanks a lot, Moony. Ever the helpful one."

Remus raised a hand and pointed at Sirius. "And that, my dense friend, is why you are in this mess."

Sirius shook his head and began to walk again. "Aren't you coming to breakfast?"

"No. I'm not really hungry."

* * *

If there was one thing Harry was sure of, it was that time-travel gave him a horrid headache. When the blur of colour around them finally focused into recognizable shapes, Harry and Ginny unwound the chain from their necks.

"That seemed longer than seven hours." Ginny said, swaying slightly as her eyes adjusted to the dim room. They were in McGonagall's office, and the light was darker than before.

"When was the last time you traveled through time?"

"Shut it, Harry."

Harry chuckled, then caught himself. What were they doing? They had to do what they came to do! "Gin, we have to go! Remember?"

She blinked. "Where? The tree?"

Harry thought a moment. "No, we can't let ourselves see us. Let's go to the Common Room."

"Are we in the Common Room?"

"No, we're at breakfast, like everyone else."

The pair hurried out of the office, which, had they stopped to notice, was missing the portrait of Dumbledore.

* * *

Sirius walked slowly to the Gryffindor Common Room, thinking over what he would say to James. Hopefully, James would forgive him and everything would be better; Sirius didn't think so.

The staircases seemed to hate him today, taking what felt to Sirius like ages to change to his advantage. When the seventh staircase clicked into the proper place, he hurried up it, praying that it would stay long enough for him to get up it. It did, but just barely. Regaining his composure, Sirius made his way down the corridor that held the portrait of the Fat Lady, trying to remember the password: _flibbertigibbet._

When he finally turned the corner to the hall with the portrait, Sirius stopped dead. There, standing straight with his back to him, was James. Next to him, also with her back to Sirius, was Lily Evans. Sirius breathed a sigh in relief. If they were talking again, then maybe he could be forgiven?

He made to walk up to them when he stopped, furrowing his brow in confusion. Studying the pair more closely, Sirius realised how different they seemed, even from behind. James was so _tall_! Sirius couldn't remember him ever being that height. Lily seemed oddly strange, too. Her hair was a different red, more fiery. What was going on?

Just when Sirius was about to approach them, they turned. James' eyes were green, and Lily wasn't Lily. Sirius stared, dumbfounded, at the two strangers in front of him, unable to say a word.

* * *

**_RoW: So, what did you think? I finally got Harry and Ginny to Marauder Time, and they only just realised it! Oh, hello Sirius! And, since I didn't find a space to put this in the story text, Harry and Ginny couldn't get into the Common Room because obviously the password is 21 years new, so they were trying to get in, and standing in confusion when Sirius walked up. Hehe, my cliff-hanger is evil. I'll write again soon, I solemnly swear! -RiverofWind_**


	6. Chapter 6: Protego and the Silver Stag

_**Chapter Six - Protego and the Silver Stag**_

Reality shattered into a million tiny pieces, leaving only fragments of old emotions and memories. Harry stood there, in front of his godfather, life crashing around him with a deafening sound that muffled his hearing. He could only stare at the sixteen-year-old version of Sirius, who seemed unable to do anything else, either.

"Harry . . . ?" Ginny whispered, voice oddly high-pitched. He barely heard her. She looked at Sirius, brown eyes wide in shock and horror, before nudging him gently.

Harry shook his head, mussing up his hair even more. Sirius looked taken-aback at this, but still said nothing. "Sirius?"

That made Sirius' eyes grow even wider, and his eyebrows shot up. "Wh-Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Ginny looked from Harry to Sirius and back again, trying to figure out what to say. "Er . . . Harry?" He didn't respond, just remained staring in silence at Sirius. _Never mind Harry helping. I've got to figure this out alone. Great._ "Erm . . . I'm . . . Ginny, and this is . . . Harry."

Sirius looked them up and down, opening and closing his mouth several times before speaking. "I've never seen you before - or, well, you look like . . . have you always . . .?"

"No!" Ginny cut in quickly. "We, er, just got here."

"From where?"

Ginny cursed Harry mentally for not being more helpful. "Erm . . ." She elbowed Harry sharply in the ribs. He gave an involuntary grunt of pain and looked at her, then at Sirius.

He blinked. "From . . . from . . ." He had nothing. Lying was not one of his strongest abilities. Ginny grew more and more fearful as time ticked by, and all they did was stare at each other: Sirius growing suspicious and Harry becoming dizzy with the shock of their time-traveling problem. _Could_ they say anything to Sirius?

Sirius, however, decided to speak on his own. "Something is not right here, and I know you're not telling the truth. You didn't even tell me your last names. I'm getting Dumbledore." He started to walk away from them.

Ginny started in surprise, rushing forward to grab his arm and pull him back. Sirius let out a startled "hey!" before being dragged backwards towards where Harry was standing.

"You can't get anyone!" Ginny gasped, drained from the effort of dragging him.

Sirius was angry now. "Why not? How do I know you two aren't Death Eaters, or something? I'm going _now_!" He shrugged Ginny off his arm and made to run, but was stopped again, this time by a stronger, firmer hand. Harry looked Sirius in the eyes before speaking. "You want us to lock you in a broom closet? Ginny knows a few nasty hexes. Tell anyone, and we will be forced to do something to you. Alright, Padfoot?"

Harry stopped, a look of confusion coming over his face. Sirius had a look of wide-eyed surprise. Harry hadn't meant to use Sirius' Marauder name - it slipped out.

"How do you . . . only the . . . _who are you two_?!" Sirius was spooked.

"Harry, what are we going to do?" Ginny asked him, ignoring Sirius completely. "How did we even _get_ here?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, Gin. I turned it seven times, just like . . ." He stopped.

"Just like what?" Ginny gazed at him worriedly.

"Just like Dumbledore said. Gin, d'you think . . . d'you think that Dumbledore meant to send us to . . . what year is it . . . 1976?"

Ginny grimaced. "I don't know, but Harry, why would he do that? Ugh, this is all my fault!"

"No, its not. If Dumbledore had his plans, then this would have happened anyway. Its no one's fault but his. I just wish I knew _why_ he did this!"

Sirius looked from one to the other, confused out of his wits. "Uh, hello?! Forget about me?"

Ginny and Harry looked down at him, blinking as if just remembering he was there. Harry, with a jolt, realised he was still clutching Sirius' arm. He didn't release it, though.

Sirius tried in vain to get free, before slumping on the ground in defeat. "Are you going to tell me who you are?"

"We're not Death Eaters, if that's what you mean." Ginny answered quickly.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because, Sirius," Harry said, a note of annoyance in his voice, "you're in no position _not _to trust us."

Sirius looked at the wizard in front of him, taking in his features. He did look amazingly like James, but his eyes were green, and there were some minor differences here and there, but _still_! "What do you want me to do?"

"D'you have the password?" Harry asked, nodding toward the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Don't want to be seen by too many people." Ginny nodded in agreement.

Sirius laughed in astonishment. "You want _me_ to give _you_ the Gryffindor password? Yeah, right. I'm a loyal Gryffindor."

"So are we," Ginny snapped impatiently.

"What?" Sirius raised his eyebrows disbelievingly. "You two are Gryffindors? You said you just got here."

Ginny sighed. "We _did_ just get here, okay? Now give us the password, close your mouth, and shut it."

Sirius glared at her. "How can I give you the password if I have to shut it?"

Ginny made to grab her wand from her pocket, but Harry held her back with his free hand. "Gin . . ."

"I know, I know." She sighed. "Sirius, what's the password . . . please?"

He looked at her, then Harry. "I can't believe I'm going to–"

Sirius was cut off by approaching footsteps. Harry, Ginny, and Sirius whipped around to see who it was. Ginny grabbed Harry's arm, feeling him tense next to her. There, walking toward them, was James, Remus, Peter, and Lily. Lily was standing a great distance from James, and James was looking at her, a pleading look in his eyes. Remus and Peter looked between the two, then at each other. Sirius saw his chance at freedom.

"Prongs, Moony, Wormtail!" Sirius yelled at the three down the hall. They turned their heads toward his voice, and stopped short. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, alarmed. Harry realised how this looked: He, a stranger, clutching Sirius' arm, Sirius slumped on the ground, and to top it all, they were trying to get into the Gryffindor Common Room. Ginny smacked the back of Sirius' head, despite the situation. Harry couldn't blame her.

The Marauders, and Lily, ran the length of the hall, wands drawn, aimed at Harry and Ginny.

"_Protego_!" Harry yelled, casting a powerful shield charm in front of himself, Ginny and Sirius before the charging attackers could utter a word. They skidded to a halt in front of them, staring at the magical blockade. Ginny smiled inwardly at Harry's advanced Defense skills.

James stepped forward, hazel eyes dark with anger. Through the shield charm, the Marauders and Lily couldn't see Harry or Ginny's features, as their images were distorted. "Who are you? Why do you have Padfoot?"

Ginny looked at Harry, concerned. This was a lot harder for him than her. She didn't have to say anything, however, because Sirius took matters into his own hands. "They're crazy Death Eaters! Rambling about Dumbledore and schemes and nonsense! They wouldn't let me get Dumbledore, either!"

Lily looked through the shield charm to Sirius, and, despite her hatred for him and the other Marauders, wanted to help him. "Let him go!"

"We're _not_ Death Eaters, you git!" Ginny shouted at Sirius, raising her hand to smack him again. Harry cleared his throat, and she lowered her raised arm.

"They were trying to get the password to Gryffindor Tower!" Sirius continued.

Ginny hexed him. Harry couldn't stop her, and Sirius was silenced for the moment. "We have right to the password, you prat!"

"Why would you have any right to our password?" James asked angrily. Lily, Remus, and Peter nodded in agreement.

Ginny opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a grunt of effort from Harry. He was trying to keep the shield up, but he was becoming exhausted. She had to think of something quickly. "Give us the password, and we'll give you Sirius."

"I'm not a prisoner! I can go anytime I want!"

"Then try, Padfoot," Ginny said icily. Sirius shrugged off Harry's slackened grip on his arm and made to bolt away, but Ginny was ready.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Sirius stiffened, arms snapping to his sides, and fell over on his back. "Was that the best you could do? Tut, tut," Ginny said in mock-disappointment.

The Marauders were growing angrier. "_Stupify!_" James yelled, sending a flying curse toward her and Harry. The spell hit the Shield Charm and faded. Harry, however, had used the last of his strength in deflecting the spell, and let the shield fall. He collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Ginny rushed over, kneeling beside him. "Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah . . . never better."

Ginny gave a small smile before looking up, realising that their protection was gone, and they were fully exposed. She prepared herself for the curses, partially shielding Harry's shaking form with her own. The curses never came, and she looked up inquiringly.

James, Remus, Peter and Lily all stood, staring at her and Harry. Lily looked long and hard at Harry, then at James, and back again, green eyes wide.

Just when Ginny felt trapped, she remembered something. Leaning down so she could whisper in Harry's ear, she said quietly, "Do you still have the Invisibility Cloak?" He nodded, and she whispered her plan to him. He looked at her, then at the gawping group in front of them, before nodding again and standing up straight. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"_Expecto Patronum!_"

The silver stag erupted from his wand, cantering down the hall, past the wide-eyed spectators, and coming to a stop at the end of the way. While James, Lily, Remus, and Peter were distracted, Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over himself and Ginny, making sure they were entirely covered before walking away.

"They're gone!" Lily gasped, and the Marauders whipped around.

"How? You can't Apparate inside Hogwarts," Remus said.

James walked slowly to the spot where, moments before, the two intruders had been standing. They were definitely gone, but how? He then remembered Sirius, and looked down at his immobilized friend. "_Finite._" He muttered, breaking the hold on Sirius' body. He loosened, stood up slowly and gazed at James. "Prongs, I'm . . ."

James held up his hand. "You are a stupid prat, but I'm used to it. Sorry, Padfoot." He grinned sheepishly, and Sirius returned the smile.

"Well, _I'm_ not forgiving you that easily. I wouldn't even be talking to you two if it wasn't for what happened." Lily crossed her arms stubbornly, flipping her hair over her shoulders.

"What should we do? Go to Dumbledore?" Remus asked.

"I'll go talk to Dumbledore. You four can go," Lily said briskly. _Yep, she's still mad._ James thought sadly. He watched her head toward Dumbledore's office, determined to get away from him quickly. He sighed.

"C'mon, Prongs. Let's get inside the Common Room. We have free period, remember?" Sirius said, happy to have his best mate back. "We can wait for Evans to get back, too. Then she can tell us all about what Dumbledore says."

James nodded. "_Flibbertigibbet_." The Fat Lady swung forward on her hinges, letting them in. The four Marauders disappeared inside the Portrait Hole.

Harry and Ginny, standing only a few feet from the Fat Lady's portrait, heard everything. They now had the password.


	7. Chapter 7: Parents of a Problem

_**Author's Note: Oh, yes, it is Chapter Seven! My favourite number! Okay, review, after you read this and I will not slip a Puking Pastille in your dinner. If it's a good review I'll also leave out the Fever Fudge.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter Seven: Parents of a Problem**_

"Oh, I forgot."

"You forgot? Forgot what, exactly?" Ginny asked him. They were standing in front of the gargoyles that led to the Head's office. They had rushed there, intending to speak to Dumbledore, before Harry had stopped, causing Ginny to pummel into his back.

"I don't know the password," Harry stated, voice soft. He was still off from their previous run-in with the Marauders and Lily. Seeing your dead parents for the first time would upset anyone.

Ginny looked at him, then the gargoyles, eyes narrowed. "Wasn't it always a candy with Dumbledore?"

Harry ran his hand through his messy hair. "Well, yeah, but there are _tons_ of possibilities, and," he sighed, "I don't fancy guessing all of them."

"Well, we have to talk to him, so let's guess the obvious first. _Chocolate Frog?_ No, apparently not. _Sugar Quill?_ No."

Five minutes, thirty-seven candies later, the gargoyles let them through with _Toothflossing Stringmints_. Harry had to grin at Dumbledore's choice of password.

"Well, that didn't take so long," Ginny said cheerfully, trying to ignore their ever-problematic time-travel situation.

"C'mon, Gin," Harry said, pulling her into the Headmaster's office. They trudged up the staircase, Harry thinking of what they would say. Going to Dumbledore meant that they would have to confide in him, and Harry wasn't sure what that would do to the time stream. All doubt vanished from his head as they came into the circular office and spotted the tall, slim outline of Albus Dumbledore. He was calmly sitting at his desk, crooked nose bent close to a piece of parchment. It was so strangely comforting seeing the year-dead headmaster that Harry lost all fear. He coughed a little, knowing the following conversation would be a bizarre one.

Dumbledore looked up at the two, not surprised at having two visitors. Harry took confidence from this. "Professor, Ginny and I need help."

Dumbledore didn't show any visible signs of surprise or confusion, but Harry knew that he was feeling both. "I'm sorry, but who are you? I can tell that you are not my students."

Ginny decided to help Harry. "That's just it, Professor. We _are_ your students. Or, we will be." Dumbledore's face did betray shock at her words, and Harry hastened to explain.

"Ginny and I are from the future."

"21 years into the future, to be exact," Ginny put in.

Dumbledore looked at them for a minute through his half-moon spectacles. He was judging whether or not to believe them, Harry was sure. "Okay then," he said finally, "explain what happened. First, however, I want to know your names."

Ginny saved Harry the trouble of answering. "I'm Ginny Weasley, and this," she nodded toward Harry, "is Harry Potter."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed in thought. "Potter? Are you, by chance, related to the James Potter who is currently one of my sixth-year Gryffindors?"

Harry stiffened, remembering all too well their earlier encounter. Ginny glanced at him, eyes shining with worry, before answering. "Yes, he is. James was his dad."

"I couldn't help but notice your use of past-tense. He _was_ his father?"

Ginny began to nod, but stopped abruptly, realising what she was about to reveal. She looked caught Harry's eye, and some invisible agreement passed between them. They would hold nothing back from Dumbledore; he might be able to help them. "Professor, we need to start from the beginning for everything to make sense."

"Some things are a little . . . well, you'll see," Harry added, referring to Dumbledore's eventual death.

Dumbledore wore a serious expression, the one he'd worn during Harry's sixth year. "Alright, let's hear it."

And so they began. They took turns, telling the parts they knew. They told the entire story, from Lily and James' death to that morning, when they'd taken the Time-Turner to the wrong time. It took a long time, and somewhere in the middle they'd had to sit down, legs aching. When they'd finally finished, with a huge breath, Dumbledore sat contemplating what they'd said. His expression was unreadable as he stared into the distance. It was ages before he spoke, and when he did, his voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "As far as I know, nothing as serious as this has ever occurred in history, and the effects of this could be catastrophic. Have you seen anyone from this time, discounting me?"

Harry and Ginny shared a look with each other before slowly turning to face Dumbledore. Ginny cleared her throat anxiously before speaking. "Well, before we realised that we were in a different time, we ran into Sirius Black, who of course," Ginny made a noise like an angry cat, "yelled for his other friends and Lily Evans as soon as they came into sight."

"Well, did they find out who you were?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head slowly. "Not that we know of. The only one who really got a good look at us was Sirius. The others only got a minute before we took out the Invisibility Cloak."

"They thought we were Death Eaters. Once again, that's all Sirius' doing," Ginny said angrily.

Dumbledore looked down his crooked nose at them. "Okay, we must speak to Professor McGonagall. She should know." He sighed, causing his glasses to slip down his nose. "How your being here will affect the future is unknown, but this will not go without consequence. Something _is_ going to change. I just hope you are prepared to face that." He gazed at the two wide-eyed Gryffindors sympathetically.

"So, no matter what the future is definitely going to change?" Ginny said, voice higher than usual at the prospect of a different life. Harry put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly, even though he was just as worried.

Looking at the young couple who had been through hell and back, Dumbledore felt a stab of sympathy. He didn't know these two, but he would help them get back to their own time without much change to the time stream. The only problem was finding out a way to do so.

"Professor, do you know how to get us back?" Harry asked tentatively.

Dumbledore hesitated. "Not right now, but with Minerva's help I'm sure that we can figure out how to get you back."

"What about my parents? And the other Marauders?" Harry asked.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter must remain in the dark about both of you. It is essential that– " Dumbledore was cut off by a loud gasp and a thud. All three turned in surprise to look at the shocked, wild-eyed face of Lily Evans.

"His _parents_?!"

* * *

_**Author's Note: There you are, chapter seven. I hope you loved that little cliffy. This story is coming along brilliantly. Now, if you kept in mind what Dumbledore's portrait said in chapter four:**_

Dumbledore chuckled quietly. "I've been wondering when you would get here. There's no need to explain yourselves," he added hastily, seeing Ginny open her mouth to speak, "I already know."

They glanced at each other in confusion. "How?"

"You told me, of course."

_**Yeah, that. Well, there you go. They just told him. That's a major element to keep in mind. The time stream was effected before they even left. What does that tell you? If anyone can guess where I'm going with this exactly I'll be very impressed! Not to mention disappointed that my brilliant scheme was found out, but you get it. Now, you know the usual drill: review, and I'll be as happy as Griphook when he got the sword of Gryffindor (nasty little traitor). I'll write Chapter Eight after I finish reading Guardians of Ga'Hoole book 14 -Exile (That'll take about two hours). **__**Cheers, RiverofWind.**_


	8. Chapter 8: Breaking Down

_**Chapter Eight: Breaking Down**_

Harry, Ginny and Dumbledore all froze as if they'd been hit by a stunner. Lily stared at them all, a crazed look on her face.

"What do you mean, _his parents_?" Lily asked, eyes burning with horror bordering insanity.

Dumbledore took a moment to compose himself before speaking. "Ms. Evans, please sit down."

She hesitated, unsure, before taking the offered seat. "Now," Dumbledore continued, "as Ms. Evans seems to have heard the tail-end of our conversation, I think it best she knows something."

Harry's eyes widened in shock, and Ginny couldn't help but shout, "But Professor!"

Dumbledore raised his hand, the one Harry remembered to be dead when he was in his sixth year, to regain their focus. "It is only fitting, as leaving her with fractured bits of the truth could turn out to be more harmful than giving her the whole. What she has walked in on is monumental. Undoubtedly it will alter history, but as to how, I am unsure." He let the words sink in for a moment before continuing, voice stern. "Harry, Ginny - I know you are against conversing with anyone from this time, well," he chuckled, "except me, of course. Unfortunately, Ms. Evans has now forced her way into this confusing web that is time travel."

Lily stared at all three of them as if they were mad. She felt like she was on one of those Muggle shows her dad had always enjoyed watching. "_Time Travel_?"

Harry looked at her, feeling a twinge of guilt. It was a feeling he'd never experienced - guilt over confusing your mother. He made his mind up then and there that he would let Lily into their confidante circle.

"Are you sure you want to hear any of this?" He asked quietly.

Lily looked up at him, and found herself staring into his eyes. They were the exact shade of her own, the exact shape, size. Surely that couldn't be coincidence? He looked so much like James, yet at the same time . . . she almost didn't want to believe it.

She took a hesitant breath before nodding, face set with grim determination. Harry looked at Ginny, who smiled encouragingly. He shot a quick glance toward Dumbledore, who nodded silently.

"Well," he began slowly, trying to piece together what he would say, "I think I should start with names. This," he nodded toward Ginny, "is Ginny Weasley, and I'm Harry . . . Potter."

Even though she'd expected as much, Lily couldn't help the mounting sense of horror. Her world felt as if it were crashing around her ears, reality melting into a formless blob of nothingness. _To think that this morning James was my only problem_, she thought bitterly. "So . . . you're James' son?" She left out the mother bit, hoping that she had heard wrong before.

Harry nodded grimly, correctly interpreting the look on her face. "James Potter, my father. One of the four Marauders." He smiled in remembrance, then shook his head sadly. The sense of emptiness that usually filled him when he thought of his parents flared inside him, and he looked at his mother. He wanted to know her, but that was the catch of time travel. What had he and Ginny already managed to change?

"And your . . . your mum?" Lily egged him on, dreading what she might hear, but wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. She had the looming sense that Harry had a bigger secret to tell than his parents' identities - she couldn't help but notice his sadness this whole conversation.

"She's . . . my . . ." the look he gave her told her everything. She _was_ this seventeen-year-old's mother.

"I don't understand!" She said hoarsely. "How could James and I have a son? I _hate_ him!" At least, she thought she did. Did she really? Sirius had said some of the things that she had long worried about: James disliking her bookish manner, her regard for rules. It had been like he had performed Legilimency on her mind and read every fear.

"What?" Ginny yelped in surprise. She looked at Harry, who had an anguished look on his face. "I thought they started getting along sixth year!"

Harry looked at Dumbledore, eyes narrowed. "We didn't do this, did we? By coming here, we didn't make them hate each other again?"

Dumbledore merely shrugged sadly, not having an answer. "Ms. Evans, I should advise you not to speak of any of this to Mr. Potter. I fear we have already meddled with time irreversibly as is." He looked at her for a moment before adding, "I think it best you go back to your dormitory. You will eventually know more, though I advise you not go looking for answers."

"Sir, where are those two going?" Lily asked slowly. Ginny and Harry were standing behind Dumbledore's desk, hands clasped. Even a git like Sirius Black could have seen that these two fancied one another. She shook those thoughts out of her head quickly.

Dumbledore stared at Harry and Ginny, then at Lily. He sighed. "I think it best they stay in the Hospital Wing for the night. Now, good-night, Ms. Evans."

Lily shot one last glance at the two time-travelers before walking out of the Headmaster's office.

"Sir, why are we staying in the Hospital Wing? Nothing's wrong with us," Ginny said. Dumbledore chuckled quietly. "I know, Ms. Weasley. Unfortunately, if I were to send you to the Common Room, it would create pandemonium. So, until we find a way to send you back, you will stay with Poppy in the Hospital Wing. No one is in there currently, so you won't be bothered. Now, give this," he scribbled on a piece of parchment and handed it to Harry, "to Poppy, and she will help you settle. Good-night, Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley."

When they had gone, Dumbledore sighed. Rubbing his temples with his bony fingers, he tried to sort his thoughts.

"Harry, are you sure you're okay?" Ginny asked him. The corridors were dark and silent as they made their way slowly to the Hospital Wing. Harry had been silent the whole way, and Ginny was worried that he had lapsed back into brooding - as if they were back in their own time, under the constant threat of Voldemort. Not getting an answer, she stopped abruptly and whipped around to face him, catching his shoulders and shaking him gently.

His eyes, much to her horror, were wet with tears. He looked lost and upset, not to mention ashamed that he had shown this weakness. "Oh, Harry," Ginny said quietly, and she hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him. Harry almost never showed this much emotion, and Ginny was at a loss for what to do.

After a moment of them standing, Ginny's arms around him, Harry returned the hug, clasping on to her as if his life depended on it. "I just can't handle much more, Gin."

* * *

_RoW: I'd be the first one to tell anyone that Harry never shows this much emotion. I was listening to an emotional song and had only half of my attention on content. Interesting. I wonder what'd happen if I listened to a different genre of music? A song about . . . tortillas or losing your favourite scarf after your ex-wife won the divorce settlement. Wait, what?_


	9. Chapter 9: Questions and Answers

_**Author's Note: This chapter is rather short, but its just a filler. I'm already working on chapter ten, which will be the first double-digit chapter! This has come so far! Oh, and chapter ten (because of its number) will have some really great stuff in it! I won't say anything else, but look forward to it!**_

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_**Chapter Nine: Questions and Answers**_

Lily was deaf. She didn't hear the curious inquiries of her classmates as she passed them in the halls. The concerned voices of the teachers she met on the way didn't make it to her ear drums. The click of her shoes on the floor was absent. It was as if she were incased in a bubble of silence, cutting off sound as well as air supply; her head would explode from the pressure and lack of oxygen if she couldn't escape.

Everything she'd found out in the past hour was weighing heavily on her subconscious. If she hadn't heard everything that boy had said confirmed by Dumbledore she wouldn't have believed him.

_That boy._ That boy was her . . . her son. He was her son with none other than James Potter, the arrogant boy she'd been in a row with for the past day and a half. What was wrong with this world?

"_Flibbertigibbet_." She didn't even stop before saying the password, and the Fat Lady looked at her, thick eyebrows raised in question. Lily purposely ignored her and crawled through the portrait hole.

Much to her chagrin, the Marauders all sat in the common room, apparently waiting for her. She didn't know whether to groan or scream - how was she to look James Potter in the face?

Remus saw her first. He stood up from his seat and glanced at the others, who followed suit at sight of Lily. It was all she could do not to run back _out_ the portrait hole.

"Lily, what did Dumbledore say? Who were those two - Death Eaters? What were they after? Lily?" They all talked at once, causing her already aching head to pound with pain. She raised her hand to silence them before taking a seat.

"Lily?" James asked her hesitantly. She looked up from rubbing her temples and caught his eye. He was worried about her, but she couldn't look at him. Shying away, she continued to rub her head. "Headache, that's all."

"What did the headmaster say?" Peter squeaked. The other three Marauders shot him a look which clearly said, _Shut up and wait! _

Lily was trying to figure out what she could tell them. _Obviously not the truth_, she thought bitterly. _Dumbledore should have prepared me for this_!

"Well, he . . . I went to his office." That sounded stupid. Of course she did, where else would she have gone? By the looks on the Marauders' faces, they thought so too. "Well, erm, they weren't Death Eaters, I found that out." That, at least, was the truth.

Sirius looked skeptical. Lily couldn't help but notice a bright red mark on his head where that Ginny had smacked him. She inwardly praised her. "How do you know?"

This was where she hesitated. "They were in his office."

Four pairs of eyes widened in disbelief. No one spoke for several seconds, which was fine for Lily. Then, "_What?!_"

She blinked at Sirius. "They–were–in–Dumbledore's–office."

"But why? Did you even _see_ that kid? I thought he was you, Prongs! He had the same everything almost, except for that scar and his eyes . . ." He trailed off, and Lily would have been worried if she didn't know Sirius Black. He wouldn't be able to put two and two together, no matter what clues he was given. James or Remus were the ones she was concerned about.

"Did he really look that much like . . . me? I only saw him for a second, but . . ." Lily sucked in her breath quickly, causing James to shoot her a suspicious look.

"Er, well, you know, he didn't look _that _much like you, I mean . . . "

Sirius stood up, eyes narrowed in anger. "He looked _exactly_ like him and you'd know it if you saw him in Dumbledore's office! I was with him for a lot longer than any of you, and he looked me straight on!"

Lily swallowed nervously, not looking any of them in the eye. They were all looking between her and Sirius, as if judging what to believe. "Look, don't we have classes to worry about?"

The Marauders shared a look, then Sirius, Remus, and Peter left the common room. James, however, stayed behind with Lily, eyeing her warily. She looked at anything but him, and he knew she was avoiding his gaze. When he couldn't take the silence anymore, he asked, "Lily . . . they're not still here, are they?"

Lily finally looked at him. "They just left, you were right here."

He shook his head, a small grin on his face. "No, not the Marauders. Those two from earlier, the one's who were in Dumbledore's office."

"Oh," Lily's voice faltered as she looked him in the eye. Recently, at least before that episode with Sirius in the dungeons, she had grown fond of his hazel eyes. "Well, erm, they—"

"Lily," James said, more harshly than he had intended. When he continued, he made sure his voice was gentler. "Please don't lie to me."

She gulped. How had he known she had been lying? More importantly, what was she supposed to say? "They . . . they . . . they're still here."

He looked as surprised as she did. "They are? Where?"

"The . . . the . . ." Lily couldn't help it, she couldn't lie to him anymore. "They're in the Hospital Wing."

* * *

**_RoW: Hm, there you go. As I said, look for chapter ten soon, because it'll be the most impacting! Oh, and review, because it makes me feel . . . erm . . . looks through books . . . oh! Review, because it makes me feel like Moony when he met the Marauders! Yay Moony! Oh, and Prongs. Yay Prongs! _**


	10. Chapter 10: The Claws of Time

_Author's Note: Okay, here's (fanfare music) ta-da! Chapter Ten: The Claws of Time! The impacting chapter that is now my favourite so far - right up there with Protego and the Silver Stag._

_I changed the date, as of the 13th February, since I came across a big problem when writing Chapter Eleven. You'll understand that later. Anyway, here you go._

* * *

_**Chapter Ten: The Claws of Time**_

October 4th, 1976 - a day that began like any other. Hogwarts students prepared for their morning classes, talked and laughed in the Great Hall, went to lessons without a care in the world (besides unfinished Transfiguration homework). A perfectly normal day at Hogwarts.

The day, however normal it had begun, would not end so. As everyone breakfasted in the Great Hall, worrying about schoolwork, four students worried about something far more troubling. It wasn't missing assignments, or an evening detention with Filch. Their worry was of far greater consequence, the balance of their lives depending on every decision they made. The future of four students hung precariously over the edge of destruction that October day cold with the oncoming winter, and the thought of what horrible fate awaited them rushed through their heads simultaneously.

Despite the angst that plagued them, they lived their lives, putting on a mask of happiness and indifference that was as fake as anything could be.

Lily Evans went to every one of her classes that day, though she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed and hide under the sheets. The knowledge she'd gained that morning was ravaging through her brain, tearing up gaping holes that would cost her greatly. She was forced to put on an act for her friends, trying hard not to seem like something was wrong when her mind and heart screamed for truth and comfort. She feared James Potter more than anything, and took the longest routes to avoid running into him. Her slip about the newcomers had left her with unsettling thoughts, and she desperately hoped she was just being over-presumptuous, though her mind was constantly nagging her about it; would James act upon what she'd told him? What would happen if he did? As she finally crawled into bed that night, exhausted mentally as well as physically, her tired mind sped into overdrive, honing the concern into full-blown paranoia. She wouldn't be able to sleep.

James Potter, on the other hand, had entirely different problems than Lily. He was the only one of the four who had no idea of their situation. He knew something big was happening, and that he was being lied to, but about what he couldn't be sure. These past few days had not been in his favour, that was certain. He'd lost the trust and friendship of Lily, which he'd worked so hard to achieve. Then this whole thing with the two newcomers this morning had thrown his world for the loop. He had only a fleeting mental image of the older boy who had appeared so mysteriously, and who looked so much like him. Surely people just don't appear at Hogwarts unannounced? Though, when he tried to question their allegiance, he was forced to remember that Dumbledore apparently trusted them. Why was he so keen to unveil them, then? His mind was whirring furiously as he sat in the sixth-year boys' dormitory all day, skiving off his classes without a guilty thought. He could easily catch up anything missed, and he was going to the Hospital Wing anyway. He could request a Pepper-Up while he was there.

Ginny Weasley was worrying about someone, not something. Honestly, she couldn't care less about messing up the future - the only problem right now that she could see was Harry. Being stuck in 1976 was unhinging him, breaking down the strong barriers hiding his emotions from the world. With those walls gone, his resistance and tolerance for emotional upheaval was straining to the breaking point. Ginny was frightened about this strain. If it were to suddenly snap, what would happen to Harry's mind? Would he completely lose it, finally succumbing to the torture and retreating within himself? Ginny would do all she could to make sure he never reached that point, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to guard him. He was wary of her protection, and she knew every time she caught him looking at her that he was remembering his small breakdown on their way to the Hospital Wing. Emotions were not something Harry liked shown - even if it was her who saw.

Harry Potter was in a mental frenzy. He was the one out of the four troubled souls who was most affected. His thoughts of the outcome of this little escapade of his and Ginny's were visions of terror and destruction, though even in his state of mind Harry knew these visions were exaggerated. What he feared the most was returning to a time where he simply didn't exist. He would be losing so much to time - Ginny, the Weasleys, Hermione - the list went on. And what if they got stuck in this time period - for the rest of their lives?

It was while thinking these thoughts that Harry realised something about time. _Time is like a predator - stalking you. You can run from it's fast footsteps, but it will hunt you down and make the kill. You can't hide from it, you can only die at it's claws. _

James sat, staring at the ceiling of the boys' dormitory. The dark crimson ran like blood, staining the wall a deep, dark red. The colour began to swim in front of him and he blinked, trying to moisten his dry eyes. He hadn't left the dormitory all day, and he was glad that no one had come looking for him. He'd told Remus what to tell their professors, so he was excused from lessons.

He looked over at the empty beds, barely recognizable in the dark. He hadn't realised how dim it was in the room. Rubbing his eyes behind his glasses, he glanced at the clock - 8:45 p.m.

Was it really that late already? He sat up in his mussed bed, gathered his bearings, and headed down the spiral staircase.

The common room was half-empty, as some students had gone to bed early. The Marauders, however, were all there, sitting comfortably near the fire. They all had a strange look on their faces - they had never really been separate since they'd become friends, and his ignoring them all day must have made them feel dejected.

"Prongs!" James winced at Sirius' voice. "Hey, Prongs, what happened to you today?" James slowly turned around; he was standing right in front of the portrait hole. He'd almost made it.

"Padfoot, I've got to go. Can't talk, don't follow, I'll know." His short, rough words were uttered so hoarsely that James barely recognized his voice. He hadn't talked all day, and it was scratchy from lack of use. He waved the Marauder's Map for Sirius to see before climbing out the portrait hole, not looking back once.

"_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_," he whispered, putting his wand-tip to the old blank parchment. He searched the map for Sirius, who had heeded his word and stayed in the common room. He nodded his head in satisfaction and was about to put the map away when his eyes, seemingly of their own accord, moved in the direction of the Hospital Wing. There were only three people there, and his heart dropped to his stomach when he read the name of one of the three: Harry Potter.

James looked up from the map, trying to decipher the walls around him. He was now outside the Hospital Wing, without fully knowing how he'd gotten there. The portrait-covered walls and high ceiling seemed to be crashing down around him as he stared at the name until it burned into his retinas.

He didn't have any relatives named Harry. The only relatives he had now were his parents, and they were getting on in years. So who was this Harry? Only one way to find out . . .

He made sure Madam Pomfrey was in her office before putting the map away and opening the door silently. As he walked in, he quickly cast _Muffliato _on her office door.

They were at the very end of the line of hospital beds, the ones encased in a curtain so no one would see them. James was thankful for these curtains as they hid him from view as well. He mentally kicked himself after thinking that, however, and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak from his pocket, where it was always handy. Then he listened.

"–in the Hospital Wing!" The girl's voice was whispering angrily. James looked at the map and saw that her name was Ginny Weasley. "Of all places, he sends us to the one place where any student has access to!"

"Calm down, Gin." It was the boy - Harry. James gulped nervously as he strained his ears to catch their whispered words. "We're only here until we can go back." _Go back where? _James questioned.

"You sound like your trying to force yourself to believe that," Ginny said softly. "Harry, don't have doubts. Dumbledore can send us back." _Back where?!_ James felt like shouting.

There was a long, drawn-out sigh. "What if he can't, and we're stuck in this time forever? What would happen to _our_ time? What about Voldemort, and the Horcruxes, and Ron and Hermione?" James' mind was reeling. _What exactly did he mean, 'our' time? Why did he so freely say You-Know-Who's name? What the devil is a Horcrux?_

There was a moment of silence in which James guessed Ginny paused. "Harry, I know what you are thinking and I thought the same, too. You have to understand, though; we are with the _living_, _breathing_ Dumbledore! He can help us back to 1997 and everything will be right again!"

"But what about my parents? Mum knows the truth about us, and its only a matter of time before Dad finds out."

"Lily's going to want to know more," said Ginny slowly. "Are you going to tell her about her and James' death?" James blanched. He felt the colour slide from his face so quickly that he was surprised it didn't make a splash as it hit the floor. He _died_? He and _Lily_ died?! What was going on here?!

"Oh, Merlin, no," Harry said quickly, voice thick with exhaustion. It had apparently been a long day. "How would I say that? 'Oh, by the way Mum: you and Dad die on Halloween when I'm only a year old! Isn't that super?' She wouldn't take it well. How would you react if you found out you were going to die?"

Ginny snorted. "I _am_ going to die. _Everyone_ dies. So I wouldn't react at all."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Harry said.

"That's what I'm here for, Harry dear," Ginny replied happily. "'Ginny Weasley, making the best out of a bad situation, no matter what time period you're in!'" They started laughing, letting out all built-up tension from that morning in one, drawn-out joke. James, however, didn't find anything funny.

He ran out of the Wing, lifting the charm off of Madam Pomfrey's door as he left. He put on a burst of speed, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Hospital Wing. He couldn't run fast or far enough, though; his feet couldn't take him away from his fate.

* * *

_RoW: There you go, mon Cherie! I don't speak French, I barely speak English! Haha, no, that would be saddening. If there's any foreign language I want to learn it's Icelandic. Only a select few (the Icelandic peoples) speak it, and I may need it if I get stranded in Iceland due to a plane crash. You have to be prepared for those Icelandic-Plane-Crashes! Where do you think that show LOST is supposed to be held? Yeah . . . you may say some random island, but oh no, it's an island of Iceland! (Note to confused reader, I don't watch LOST, nor have I any clue as to where the actual island is.) Okay, so you know the drill: review!_


	11. Chapter 11: The Canine Conversations

_**Chapter Eleven: The Canine Conversations**_

"Please, Moony? If I don't have this essay, I'll get a detention!" Sirius frowned, then smirked. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy a good, old-fashioned McGonagall detention. The way her eyes crinkle as she glares at me really does make my heart flutter."

Remus rolled his eyes, muttering an "oh brother". He answered by pushing his completed Transfiguration essay across the table toward Sirius, who snatched at it enthusiastically.

"Thank you, my dear Moony," Sirius said, looking at the essay in front of him. "Very, very fine collection of words here, very fine indeed. I salute you in your vast knowledge of . . . of . . ." He glanced at the title on the page, "transfiguring people into animals . . . oh."

"Maybe now you'd think to pay attention during lessons, Padfoot. If you had, then you'd know the essay was about Animagi and the processes a wizard has to go through to become one." Remus grinned wolfishly, savoring the look on Sirius' face.

Sirius let out a groan. "If I had known the essay was about Animagi, I would have written it earlier! As you know, I'm pretty knowledgeable on the subject."

"Really?" Remus grinned. "I never would have—" He stopped suddenly, hearing someone coming in through the portrait hole. Sirius opened his mouth to ask why he'd stopped before hearing the sounds, too. The canine hearing in both strained to hear who was coming in at almost ten o'clock at night.

They were surprised to see James stumble from the portrait hole. He was white as death, all colour absent from his face. He shook uncontrollably, and looked like he was going to be sick. Remus and Sirius both jumped from their seats and rushed to their friend, worried.

James shook his head as they led him to a seat near the fire. He was mumbling incoherently, eyes distant and dark. Remus and Sirius shared a panicked look before sitting down across from James.

"Prongs? What's wrong?" Remus asked tentatively. James just shook his head, mouth twisting into a grimace.

Sirius grabbed James's shoulders roughly. "Prongs! What happened?!" He shook him until Remus pulled him back into his seat.

"Lily . . . Lily!" James suddenly said, glancing around wildly. "Where's Lily?"

Sirius looked at Remus, who was staring at James as if worrying after his sanity. "It's ten o'clock at night, Prongs. I saw her go to bed earlier. She didn't look too good."

James let out a dry, humourless laugh. "I wouldn't think so."

"James . . . what's going on?" Remus asked slowly. "Is there something . . . did something happen between you two?"

James grunted. "You could say that."

"I don't get it," Sirius said. "So, did something happen or not? Why did you look like you did when you came in? Why did you come in so _late_?"

Instead of answering Sirius' questions, James stood up. "I'm going to bed." With that, he stalked up the stairs, looking insanely broody and panicked.

"What just happened, Moony?" Sirius asked after James had left. They both sat in their seats, staring at the boys' dormitory stairway.

"Something big, but you, Wormtail, and I aren't a part of it. This is something between Prongs and Lily."

Sirius looked over at the table that still held his blank parchment and Remus' essay before standing up and sitting back down in front of the pages. Remus followed suit.

"What makes you think something is going on between them?" Sirius asked, dabbing his quill in his inkwell. He carefully brought the tip to the page, making slow, deliberate strokes as if pondering his words - which, Remus knew, he was. Sirius wasn't good at writing essays, no matter what he knew about the subject.

"I-I don't know," Remus stuttered. "Ever since those two kids showed up earlier, things have been off around here. Haven't you noticed?" Even as he asked it, Remus knew asking that question to Sirius was stupid.

Sirius finished his sentence, tongue between teeth, before answering. "Noticed what?"

"I think Lily found something or was told something when she went to Dumbledore's office. Then," Remus thought a bit, realising what he hadn't before, "Lily and James were left alone when she came back, after we all went to bed. She could have told him something."

"That doesn't explain why he was out so late just now," Sirius wisely pointed out. He was furiously scribbling on his parchment now, not even bothering to read over it.

Remus looked into the fire. Where _had_ James been tonight? What had he seen or heard that had shaken him up that severely? The more Remus thought about it, the more he realised it all traced back to the two strangers from earlier that morning. The link grew stronger as he analised every detail of that day, from the behaviours of Lily and James, to the cryptic responses they'd given. None of it added up, yet all of it linked to the strange teens. Who were they _really_? And why had they been in Dumbledore's office? It all gave Remus a headache.

"What day is it?" Sirius asked suddenly, breaking into Remus' thoughts.

Remus stared at him like he was mad. "You haven't lost your marbles too, have you?"

"Not last time I checked, sorry," Sirius grinned. "I have to put the date for today, so McGonagall knows I did it today and not October 20, 1996."

"You don't even know the _year_?"

"Hey, I have a rough idea!" Sirius defended. "I just don't get around to checking calenders."

Remus rubbed his temples. "It's October 4th, 1976."

"Ha, you see! I knew it was October!"

"Oh, good job," Remus clapped his hands in mock congratulations.

Sirius threw down his quill, a satisfied look on his face. "There! I'm done!" He turned slowly toward Remus.

"What? Oh no!" Remus waved him off. "I always get stuck checking your essays. Do you think I enjoy it?"

"Yes," Sirius said. "You just_ love_ correcting my spelling mistakes and telling me how nutters I was to put such a thing in an essay."

"No."

Sirius looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Puh-leese?" He let out a dog whine. It whistled uncomfortably through Remus' eardrums.

"You know I could get Peter and the dog whistle," Remus said, causing Sirius to clam-up instantly.

"You wouldn't," Sirius said in disbelief.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I would. It was _so_ much fun last time." He pulled Sirius' essay toward him, grudgingly reading through it and crossing things out.

"Not for me," Sirius said bitterly. "That thing almost_ killed_ me! As soon as I find out where you're hiding it, you'll regret ever blowing it near me!" He shuddered.

Remus let out a laugh. "You'll never find it. I hid it right after . . . after . . ."

"Right after what?"

"Last full moon." Remus almost gagged the words out. He had forgotten about the date, and apparently everyone else had, too. "I forgot what day it was."

"So who's forgetting dates now?" Sirius smirked, before realising what Remus had just said. "Oh, wait, when is the full moon?"

Remus thought a moment. "I-I don't really know. Here, wait." He dashed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. He was only gone a moment before he reappeared, clutching a severely creased bunch of papers, which he spread out on the table. He traced his finger along the pictures of the moon, finally resting on the next full moon.

"When is it? Moony?"

Remus glanced up, eyes dark and forbidding. He suddenly looked years older, the scars on his face standing out starkly against his pallid face. "October 6th."

"Well, okay, when's that?" Sirius asked, despite having received the date earlier.

"Two days."


	12. Chapter 12: Collision

_**Chapter Twelve: Collision**_

"I'm sick of this, I'm sick of this, _I'm sick of this_!"

Harry looked at her in surprise, trying to find the source of her sudden outburst. "Sick of what, exactly?"

Ginny's eyes darted around the hospital wing wildly, practically spinning in their sockets. "This room - I'm sick of this room! We've been in here too long!" She growled in annoyance.

"Gin," Harry chuckled, "we've only been in here for a couple hours."

She blinked at him, eyes wide. "Really?"

Harry laughed loudly. "Yeah, really. You really don't like sitting in the same place for too long, do you?"

She ignored him, turning to face the bland, stone wall that had been driving her mad for the past few hours. They had spent the night here, curtains drawn around their beds to shield them from unwanted attention. They'd awoken early this morning, nightmares of altered time-lines gracing their sleep. It was now eight o'clock in the morning and Dumbledore hadn't attempted to contact them, which created a feeling of unease for both Harry and Ginny. They avoided mentioning the wizened old headmaster and his lack of information. What if he couldn't find a way to get them back to their own time? Harry didn't even want to begin thinking of Voldemort.

"So," Ginny began, trying to take her mind off the walls, "d'you think we'll be able to leave today?" Harry looked at her anxiously and she hurried to correct herself. "The hospital wing, at least."

Harry shrugged. "Who knows? We have to wait for Dumbledore."

Ginny scoffed. "Honestly, I don't think we should. Why should we have to wait for him? Let's just go to his office and ask ourselves."

He parted the curtain to glance at the door. "I don't know, Gin . . ."

"Oh come on, Harry! I need to escape this _prison_!" She emphasised the word dramatically, raising her wrist to her forehead.

Harry rolled his eyes, looked at the entrance again, then turned to Ginny. "Gin, if we are seen . . ."

Ginny perked up, excited at the prospect of leaving her personal hell. "Don't worry, we won't be. We could hurry!"

"Or," Harry said firmly, "we could use the Invisibility Cloak."

"Well, yeah, if you want to get there the easy way," she grumbled, looking sheepish.

Lily looked around the corner, a worried look plastered on her face. Her red hair fanned out in front of her, creating a curtain to hide her face. _If I run into James, I'm not going to be able to hide anything_, she thought. She had been checking corners the entire morning, hoping to avoid a certain raven-haired, spectacled wizard. So far she'd been successful, but she didn't let her guard down.

She sighed in relief when she saw that the hallway around her corner was empty, then quickly turned it. She was becoming paranoid, a fact she was completely aware of, and it bothered her. _It's that Harry Potter's fault! Why'd he have to go messing around in our time?! You'd think I'd have raised a better-behaved son_. _Then again, with a father like James . . ._ She cut her thought off before she could dwell on _him_. She didn't want to curse herself by thinking of James now.

She was so preoccupied with her raging thoughts that she forgot to check the next corner. As she turned, she ran into a tall, very solid thing that sent her sprawling on the stone floor. Dazed, she glanced up in confusion at the stationary figure she'd ran into quite unceremoniously. When she glimpsed his face, her stomach dropped painfully, writhing in agony. It was a good thing she hadn't eaten breakfast.

She'd collided with James Potter - the one person she didn't want to collide with. Still, despite her horror, she couldn't help but notise his appearance. It was so far from his normal arrogant, handsome (she added that adjective grudgingly) look that she immediately worried, which surprised her even more. Since when did she care about James Potter? Hadn't she learned not to trust him, after his friend shared his thoughts about her? Actually, thinking of recent events, that hardly seemed a good reason for starting a feud.

She pushed these confusing thoughts from her whirring mind, concentrating on the present. She was still on the ground, books and papers littered all around her. She looked back at James' face, trying to ascertain his feelings. He looked just as horror-struck as she felt, eyes wide behind the glasses. He was paler than usual, she notised. What had happened to him?

He shook his head, mussing his untidy hair, trying to focus. "Sorry, Lily."

His voice was quiet, strained. She stared at him, wide-eyed and still sprawled on the floor. He clicked his tongue, eying her carefully, before reaching out a strong arm to pull her up. She dusted herself off, still looking at his now-embarrassed face.

"It was my fault," she said, as quiet as he had been. "I wasn't looking."

It was awkward, they both felt the tension. James rubbed the back of his neck gingerly while Lily twisted a lock of her hair.

"Oh," James said suddenly, seeing her books and homework scattered on the ground. "Let me help you."

"No, really, it's alright."

"No, let me help. I ran into you."

They both bent down and reached for the same book - _Gringotts: Inside and Out_. It was the same book he'd picked up the last time they'd ran into each other, in the dungeons, before they'd had their falling out. Their hands touched in their haste, and their faces went scarlet. James looked up, and Lily did the same, their eyes meeting - green and hazel staring fixedly into one another. Before they knew what had happened, they were leaning forward and their lips met. They stayed like that, kneeling on the cold stone and mouths intertwined, for what seemed like hours. When they finally broke apart, a silent understanding went through them. Their little feud was over.

"James, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so angry with what Sirius said," Lily stated quietly, still gazing into his eyes.

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Yeah, well, Sirius can come off a little . . . strong."

"I'll say." They laughed quietly, forgetting the past few days. Lily was smiling, and James looked happier.

"We should probably pick up your papers, before someone decides to cheat off them."

"Oh," Lily said, only just remembering her books and homework. "Yes, I guess we should."

They stooped to gather all of Lily's papers and textbooks, shooting glances at one another when they thought the other wasn't looking. When their eyes met, they would look away quickly, a sheepish grin spreading across their face.

They were stuffing everything back into Lily's bag when there was a loud smack and James let out a grunt, falling to the floor in a heap. Lily rushed to him, concerned, not having seen what happened. She stopped dead, however, when she saw what had smacked into James. James, too, went wide-eyed as he saw his carbon-copy rubbing his forehead on the stone floor alongside a dazed red-head.


	13. Chapter 13: We Can't!

_**Author's Note: Okay, it took a bit longer than I planned, but it's up now! heheh. I sat down at my computer today, after a horrid little episode after dinner when I had one of my reactions to my salad lettuse. Yeah, I'm allergic to fruits and veggies (and peanuts) - I've got OAS (Oral Allergy Syndrome). Horrid nuisanse that is, let me tell you. **_

**_Anyway, rambling, I sat at my computer, armed with nothing but a bowl of ice-cream (not Florean Fortesque's, unfortunately) and my mind. This is the result. I don't know where the whole 'Muggle film' thing came from, I guess I had brain freeze, but . . . yeah, well, just read! _**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen: We Can't!**_

James stared in absolute horror at the tall, raven-haired boy on the ground in front of him. He was still on the ground himself, glasses awry on the bridge of his nose. He slowly reached up and fixed them, hoping that the two people in front of him would vanish when his full sight was restored. They didn't.

He shot a sideways glance at Lily, who was standing stock-still a few inches behind him. By the look on her face, he would guess that she knew a bit more about these two strangers than he'd originally thought.

Harry picked himself up off the cold floor, rubbing his forehead absent-mindedly. He didn't take his eyes off James' face as he stood, James mirroring his actions. Harry was a few inches taller than his sixth-year father, something both didn't fail to notise. Harry finally broke eye-contact to turn and help Ginny up off the ground. When everyone was standing, Harry and James took up staring at each other again, and Lily and Ginny did the same.

No one spoke for several minutes, the seconds ticking by silently. Finally, when she couldn't take the mind-numbing silence anymore, Ginny spoke. "Sorry for running into you."

It sounded pathetic, and they all stopped their staring match to look at her. She looked down, a sheepish look on her face, cheeks burning scarlet. Harry put his arm around her, trying to expel her embarrassment while, at the same time, attempting to sort out the confusion ravaging his mind.

Lily, shooting a quick glance at James, stepped forward, eyes wide. "James and I . . . that is . . . we have some . . ." She looked over her shoulder at James, who jumped to her rescue.

"Questions - we have some questions that you need to answer."

Harry and Ginny started, sharing a look of utmost terror. Of all the things that they could have run into during their little escapade, they _had_ to run into Lily and James. They both knew that they couldn't answer questions - if Harry's parents found out anything about the future, they wouldn't _be_ Harry's parents in the future.

"Well," Ginny said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "what would you have questions about?" They all knew perfectly well what they had questions about.

James looked around quickly. They were standing, in full view, in a deserted hallway a few turns away from the Great Hall. He looked at his watch, saw that breakfast would be ending soon, and cursed. The corridor would be flocked with students soon, and they wouldn't have any privasy. "Look, we can't talk here. Let's go someplace more private."

"The hospital wing?" Lily suggested, remembering that Harry and Ginny had been sent there by Dumbledore the day before. She wondered, briefly, why they weren't there now.

"Oh," Ginny sighed. "We just came from there! Do we have to go there, of all places?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "We aren't going anywhere, Gin. We can't answer their questions."

James narrowed his eyes as well. Lily and Ginny were struck by the severe similarities in the glaring pair. "And why can't you answer them? You don't even know what we were going to ask."

"I have an idea, actually," Harry said, voice low. "Sorry, but we have to go. C'mon, Gin." He took her elbow and pulled her along, not looking back at his shell-shocked parents. Ginny staggered, caught of guard, before righting herself and following.

When they'd been walking for a few minutes, and were positive that Lily and James weren't following, they pulled on the Invisibility Cloak. The breakfasting students in the Great Hall were beginning to walk to their first lesson, and Harry didn't want to be seen.

They pulled the hospital doors open as quietly as possible, yet quickly. The bland room was like sanctuary after their 'exciting' walk around the school.

"You know," Ginny whispered, as they sat behind their curtain, plopping on the firm beds tiredly, "I am actually glad to be back in here. The boring walls are so comforting."

Harry didn't respond, he only stared at the ceiling. How things could have gotten so much worse he hadn't the slightest, but they had. Not only were they stuck in the wrong time, with people who were currently dead in their own time period, but those people were suspicious and asking questions. They wouldn't be able to leave the hospital wing for a while.

"Harry, I think, maybe, it would be okay to hear their questions. We could answer them if they're safe, and ignore them if they're not."

He turned his head slowly on the bed to look at her in surprise. "Ginny, we can't answer _anything_. If they find anything out about the future, then —"

"Yeah, yeah, 'the future will cease to exist' and 'time will drastically be altered beyond recognition'. I'm tired of everyone's explanations sounding like one of those Muggle movies dad loves. What was that one . . . the one with the crazy-haired man?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Crazy-haired man?"

She nodded, trying to recall the title of a film she'd watched a few years ago, when her dad had finally managed to work his ancient videocassette player that he'd taken apart and reassembled. She'd only managed to sit through half before falling asleep, however, much to her father's disappointment. He'd broken the tape player the following day, when he accidentally put the tape in backwards, thinking that was the way to rewind.

"_Back to the Future_?" Harry supplied half-heartedly, wondering when their conversation had fallen so far off the mark. Hadn't they just been discussing their current problem? _Leave it to Ginny to take your mind off any majour issue_, Harry thought, a small smile coming across his face.

Her eyes brightened. "Yes! That was it, I think. Did you ever watch that?"

He sat up on his elbow, eying her playfully, forgetting their past conversation. "Yeah, I did. I grew up with Muggles, remember?"

"Yes, I knew that, Mr. Smart-aleck. I was just asking, because that movie reminded me a lot of our current situation."

"Really," Harry said, trying to recall what the movie was about. He'd only been eight when he'd seen it, when the Dursleys had allowed him to watch the film in one of their rare moments of goodness. He remembered the gist of it, the teenage boy transported back in time and having to make sure his parents fell in love. He went rigid remembering that detail. "Ginny . . ."

"What?" she asked. She looked up at him curiously, recognising the change in his tone.

"Do you think . . . maybe . . . that Dumbledore sent us here . . . on purpose?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows, thinking. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out."

"Not right now, you aren't!" A rough voice cut into the quiet of the room, jolting Harry and Ginny out of their thoughts. They whipped around, eyes wild, and found themselves looking at nothing but the curtain around their beds. Only now did they realise that it was being held open by something, something invisible. It dropped and the air wrinkled before they stared into the determined faces of Lily and James.

**_RoW: I'm hoping to get the next chapter, much longer than the last two, up tomorrow. I won't have brain freeze, then either! :D_**

**_On a side note, who saw My Boy Jack on PBS Sunday? Daniel Radcliffe was amazing, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his fan, he was honestly good. Rudyard Kipling was a fascinating person, great story behind him and his family._**


	14. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**_Author's Note -_** _I honestly cannot believe I didn't think of this sooner - a couple months ago, for that matter. By now you all are probably sick of waiting and just forgot about this story. Ah, well, I'm sorry about that._

_I've had a few personal things to take care of - I was just recently, er, "diagnosed" with Oral Allergy Syndrome, so I have to visit the hospital weekly for shots and stuff._

_Anyway, the biggest contributor to my lack of updates is the big book release coming up. Just like last summer with Deathly Hallows, my mind is completely occupied thinking about Breaking Dawn. I'm in the Twilight . . . Zone. (everyone reading this groans)_

_I'm going to get back to some serious updating as soon as August 2nd has rolled on by and I'm through suffering from Book-Series-Ending-Depression._

_Thanks to those who are still reading this story, I'll see you all soon!_

_-RiverofWind_


	15. Chapter 14: A Beautiful Gift From Above

_**Chapter Fourteen - A Beautiful Gift From Above**_

Time is a strange thing. Neither entity nor anything tangible, it affects the lives of everyone and everything. However, with all the power that time possesses, it is such a fragile force. The slightest interference can shift the precarious balance - and tip the scale of someone's very existence.

It is because of this danger that the magical instruments created to alter time - Time-Turners and other unmentionables - were hidden away under lock-and-key by the Ministry, never to be brought back into the light.

But something the Ministry never considered occurred: because of their minimal understanding of time itself, they hadn't predicted that the damage had already been done. Past time-travelers had failed to use the devices correctly, ending up stuck in a different time - sentenced to a lifetime of regret and misery in a foreign era.

Dumbledore stood in his office, feeling the very fabric of time unraveling around him. He felt that he could see the threads, luminescent strings of light and magic, ripping apart at the seams and sewing something entirely new. In all his years, Dumbledore had never questioned his own actions; but, with the essence of his own world falling apart and re-stitching around him, he worried about his decision.

Dumbledore didn't know what his future self had planned by sending the two children here, but he was certain it was his own self who had set this plan in motion - a fact that troubled his mind greatly. He glanced at the portraits of passed headmasters, not really seeing the inhabitants of the various frames. Sighing, he slid his glasses off his face and set them on his desk, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Albus," a voice said quietly. "Albus, do you know what is happening? The feeling in the air is tangible."

Dumbledore turned, replacing his spectacles, to look into the portrait of Armando Dippet. The former headmaster's face was lined with confusion and worry, adding many years to the already aged face.

"It seems time is being changed as we speak, Armando," Dumbledore said solemnly. He turned to the window, gazing at the glassy lake and the outlining forest. As he watched, a lone Thestral flew from the cover of the trees, taking to the skies. His eyes followed the winged beast until he could see it no more. Then, with one last look at the sky, he turned back to Dippet's portrait. "There is a Time-Turner in use, as you know."

"You think those two children have told someone the truth?" Dippet asked, eyes narrowed.

Dumbledore walked to the window again, feeling older than he'd ever felt before. Without looking at Dippet, he said, "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

"Enough dodging!" James said, exasperated. "We want answers."

Lily nodded, not taking her eyes off of Harry's. They were so like her own it was disconcerting. "We know more than you give us credit for."

This sent a jolt of surprise through Harry and Ginny. Last they knew, James had known nothing of the situation or their true identities. Had Lily told him? It seemed highly doubtful, what with their arguments.

"What exactly do you know?" Harry said slowly.

Lily was quick to respond. "You're from the future, and James and I are your parents."

Harry nodded, expecting that. She had, after all, eavesdropped on Dumbledore's office. He was about to speak when James cut him off.

"Wait, _what_?" His hazel eyes widened slightly. He shook his head, one corner of his mouth pulled up in a disbelieving half-smile. "I think I've missed a bit here. Would you care to repeat that little bit of information for me again, Evans?"

Lily, a look of guilt plastered on her face, said, "Er . . . they're from the future, and Harry - Harry _Potter_ - is our _son_."

James' strange smile twitched, but he otherwise remained unaffected by her words. "That's exactly what I thought you said."

"I thought you knew," Lily admitted, eyes wide in confusion. "I thought that was why you were acting so strangely."

"You were mistaken," James said stiffly.

"Then why _were_ you pestering us?" Ginny asked him, sharing Lily's confusion.

James grimaced. "As I'm sure dear Evans already knows, apparently we die when our young Harry is only one year old."

Three pairs of eyes stared at James in shock. His eyes narrowed as he took in their expressions. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Harry asked quietly.

James turned to look at him. "I snuck into the Hospital Wing last night - alone."

"How did you even know where we were?" Ginny asked.

"Marauder's Map." Harry and James said it at the exact moment, and James did a double-take.

He stood up. "How the bloody hell do you know about that? We _just_ finished it this year!" James was beside himself. The Marauders had taken every form of precaution to hide the Map's existence - as if they wanted Filch to nick it.

"James! There are bigger things going on right now than a silly map!" Lily said.

James sat back down, grumbling, "S'not a silly map. Doesn't know what she's talking about."

Lily, choosing to ignore his childish reaction, looked to Harry. "So it's true, then? You're an . . . _orphan?_" She didn't want to ask, "So we die?" She was choosing to pretend Harry's parents weren't actually her and James.

Harry looked away before answering. "Yes."

Lily and James both let out a breath. It was a dejected, miserable sound that seemed to fill the silence like a poisonous gas; Harry felt like he was choking on it.

James was deep in thought, thinking over something that had bothered him for ages. While they had Harry answering their questions honestly, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"So, I've been wondering," he began, choosing his words carefully. "The day you two showed up, when you had Sirius by the Common Room portrait, how did you get away?"

Lily perked her ears, curious. She, too, had wondered the same thing.

Harry felt a small smile grace his features. "Patronus."

"Really," James said, intrigued. "For a second, it had looked like . . . er . . . never mind."

"Looked like what, James?" Lily cocked her head in his direction.

"Erm . . . it looked like a beautiful gift from above - now never mind. Never mind means never mind. Now _never mind._" He looked away swiftly, but not before he saw the smirk on Harry's face.

"You can't honestly expect me to believe —"

"So anyway," James said loudly, cutting Lily off. "That's not all I was wondering about. You disappeared during your little Patronus-y display. How, dare I ask?"

"While you were watching the _'beautiful gift from above'_?" Harry smirked, which made James suspicious. "Invisibility Cloak."

James stood abruptly again, indignation written all over his face. "Excuse me, but this is a little much. How, in the darkest recesses of hell, do you know about the Invisibility Cloak? First the Map, which I could just write off as a bit of stupidity on Padfoot's part, but the Cloak?!"

"I have one." Harry pulled the Cloak out of his pocket, still grinning with amusement. James was mortified.

"_Is nothing my own anymore?!_"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **What can I say? Honestly, I have little in the way of excuses, and I doubt anything I do offer will be enough to let you forgive the extremely long absence. However, I will offer a little explanation as to what I've been doing all this time, so as not to leave you all with the idea that I forgot or didn't care._

_The past few months have been full of new experiences - I'd been inducted into the Twilight universe a while back, and I wrote a large amount of stories (almost enough to match my Harry Potter amount) in that category. I've started another chaptered fic in the Twilight category, one that is requiring immense amounts of careful research into the past century (I had a lot of fun Googling '1918' to find accurate furniture, popular surnames - as well as first names - of that time, and delved into the history of the Spanish Influenza - very soon I get to explore the 1920s and 30s.) _

_In non-fic related things, a few weeks ago I went for my weekly allergy shots (Oral Allergy Syndrome) and had a severe reaction (anaphylaxis) on my way home, something I didn't fully realise was so serious until my throat closed and I could barely breathe. So that was a magical experience, let me tell you. :)_

_I don't know how often I'll update this story, but it will be more frequently than the past few . . . erm . . . how long has it even been since I updated? Er . . . yeah, well, never mind. Never mind means never mind. :)_

_Hope you all haven't given up hope on me because of my long absence! I felt I had to give you something to make up for it. Consider this a Christmas present. Happy Christmas!_

_RiverofWind_


	16. Chapter 15: Bait

_**Chapter Fifteen - Bait**_

"I don't understand how you could _forget _the date, Moony. Honestly, it's the _date_!" Sirius shook his head.

Remus clicked his tongue in annoyance but otherwise remained silent. Now that he had himself forgotten the date after chastising Sirius, Padfoot was taking it upon himself to harp on about it.

The two Marauders were weaving their way through the halls and floors of Hogwarts toward the Headmaster's office. Remus quickened his pace, all the while cursing himself for forgetting that there was a full moon tonight. How could he have been so careless? Forgetting the moon cycle meant danger to all who came into contact with him - and danger to his place at Hogwarts.

"Padfoot, if you do not walk quicker I will make you go back to the Common Room," Remus said over his shoulder, practically running to reach his destination.

"If you do not walk slower then I will turn you into a turtle," Sirius huffed. No need to admit to the fact that he had no idea how to do so. He put on a burst of speed.

On the second floor landing, Sirius passed Remus, throwing a satisfied smirk over his shoulder as he ran ahead.

"Sirius, wait!" Remus skidded to an abrupt halt, shoes squealing on the slick floor.

Sirius laughed triumphantly, still looking back at Remus as he charged ahead. "What's wrong, Moony? Forget where we were going like you forgot the date?"

Remus waved his arms frantically, eyes wide. "No, you git! Stop!"

Ignoring his cries, Sirius kept going. It wasn't until he finally turned around that he realised he was about to run into thin air.

The staircase to the first floor wasn't in its place. Only inches from Sirius was a dead drop one floor down, and he was running toward it at full speed.

Cursing, Sirius tried to stop himself, leaning backward. Despite his efforts, he kept heading forward, toward that empty air.

When his feet hit the edge of the precipice, he tripped and stumbled down - onto the marble staircase only two feet below.

By the time Remus reached the staircase, it was safely in place at the ledge - and on its stony stairs sat Sirius, dazed and groaning.

"I . . . told . . . you . . . to . . . _stop_!" Remus panted, helping him up.

Sirius grumbled something that sounded to Remus like, "Could've said so sooner, you prat". He watched as Sirius rubbed his head, where a knot was forming.

"So you landed on your head," Remus stated matter-of-factly, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to hide a smile. "Maybe now you'll know to look _forward_ while you run."

"Shut it," Sirius snapped. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Sighing, Remus walked down the staircase, stopping at the bottom to look back at Sirius. "Are you coming?"

Sirius glared at the marble below him, still worrying the bump on his head. Then, still glaring, he trudged down the steps to catch up.

"It's not the staircase's fault, you know." Remus made sure their pace was slower this time, to avoid any more accidents.

Sirius pointedly ignored him, nose in the air.

Turning the corner, they came to the stone gargoyles that guarded Dumbledore's office. Stopping in front of the beasts of rock, Sirius looked at Remus.

"Do you know the password?"

"Peppermint Humbugs," Remus said, facing the gargoyles. They moved aside as the password was spoken, allowing the two Marauders to enter the Headmaster's office.

"Good evening," the voice of Albus Dumbledore greeted them as they stepped into the large room. Dumbledore was standing in front of the window, looking out at the lake's shiny surface and the forest beyond. He turned at their approach and his wizened face broke into a pleasant smile. His eyes, however, were troubled behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Good evening, sir," Remus said, rubbing his forearm nervously. Sirius repeated the greeting only half-heartedly, eyes half-closed and hand back at his temple. What had been a small bump was now a large, very notiseable knot that was the deep purple of a bruise. He grimaced every time his fingers brushed it.

"Mr. Black, perhaps it would be best if you would go to see Madame Pomfrey for that bump on the head. May I ask how you acquired such a bruise?"

Sirius grumbled, "Ran off the second floor."

Dumbledore showed no surprise at hearing that a student had fallen from the second floor. He did, however, adjust his glasses so they sat more securely on his long nose. "I think a trip to the Hospital Wing, Mr. Black, would be in your best interest. Your head is now a lovely shade of puce."

Remus glanced over his shoulder at Sirius, who's hand flew up to his forehead again to touch the painful swelling. He hissed in pain when he touched the sensitive skin.

"Yeah, I think I'll go now." Sirius turned to the door, talking as he opened it. "Have fun talking to Professor Remus, Dumbledore. Don't date the forget again."

As the door closed behind Sirius, Remus turned an anxious glance toward the Headmaster. "Is he alright?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I believe it is merely a bad bump to the head - nothing Poppy cannot fix. Now, _Professor_," he smiled as his eyes twinkled in amusement, "I assume you are here because of your . . . how does your group refer to it?"

"My 'monthly issue'?" Remus supplied, cheeks burning. Honestly, James couldn't have made it sound less . . . menstrual? James had spent ages trying to come up with a term for Moony's werewolf problem, and consequently had numerous titles to give to the full moon transformation. 'Monthly issue' was one of James' new favourites.

"Ah, yes." Dumbledore chuckled. "Surely that is one of Mr. Potter's coins?"

Remus nodded, face still hot. "Sir, about the full moon . . ."

"Yes, Mr. Lupin, the arrangements have been made for you in Hogsmeade. Would you feel more comfortable leaving at a later time or presently?"

Glancing at his watch, Remus noted that it was already five-thirty in the afternoon. The night would soon be upon them, and when the moon made its appearance in the black sky all hell would break loose. Better to leave now while there was a safe amount of daylight between him and the dark.

"If it's alright with you, sir, I'd like to leave now."

Dumbledore bowed his head solemnly, understanding Remus' train of thought. "You wish to leave before sunset. That is perfectly understandable, Mr. Lupin." He strode away from the window, stealing one last glance at the scenery behind the thick glass before shutting it out. "Come, let us set off for Hogsmeade."

* * *

As the large wooden door shut behind him, Sirius grumbled under his breath. He'd always hated the Hospital Wing - and they were there quite often, the Marauders. Though usually it was Peter, who'd gotten the worst out of an ill-timed prank, or James, who injured himself on the Quidditch field as a Gryffindor Chaser. Then there was Remus, who didn't go to the actual Wing, but did see Madame Pomfrey when he'd taken his animalistic side and bitten himself. Sirius was not the usual Marauder patient, and he did not like being so.

Reaching up toward his forehead, Sirius rubbed the itchy spot where the ugly purple knot had been. Madame Pomfrey had taken one look at his head and aloof expression before pulling out her wand and casting a healing charm. What had been a painful purple bruise was now an itchy red blot that looked like he'd been clocked in the head with a tomato. His mind cleared, too, after she gave him a Pepper-Up.

It was lucky that there had been no one else in the Infirmary - or that he could see. He swore he heard whispers coming from behind the curtain at the far end of the room. He even thought he'd heard a chair scrape against the floor as someone stood up abruptly, though that was before the Pepper-Up and he might've imagined the whole thing.

Sirius glanced at his wristwatch, seeing that it was now five-forty-two. Dinner would be soon, and for that his stomach was grateful. Deciding to walk straight to the Great Hall, Sirius rounded the corner, bringing him onto the first-floor landing. There were, much to Sirius' annoyance, many students gathered here now - including, Sirius noted, Peter.

As Sirius wove through the tangle of students, he also saw a boy leaning against the far wall - away from everyone else. Sirius was about to open the door to the Great Hall when a sudden idea sparked in his head, causing a snide grin to spread across his face.

Turning on his heel, Sirius made toward the loner, grabbing Peter's collar as he passed him and dragging the protesting boy with him. Stopping only feet in front of the student against the wall, Sirius let Peter's collar go, dusting off his shirtfront as he put on a mask of secrecy and anxiety.

"Wormtail, do you know what day it is?"

Peter, still ruffled from Sirius' abrupt arrival, shook his head as he attempted to fix his now mussed collar.

Sirius let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head in impatience. "Honestly, Wormtail. It's _that time of the month_."

If Peter was confused before, he was even more so now. His eyes widened slightly as his mouth opened in a mortified '_O_'.

Even Sirius was confused by his reaction - for a second. Then, as it dawned on him, he was quick to right the wrong. "Oh, no no no! That's not what I meant!" He glanced over his shoulder as subtly as possible, trying to glimpse the boy behind them. The loner was listening to their conversation - Sirius could tell by the tilt of his head. Good.

"Remus has gone again. It's _that_ time of the month."

"It's already—"

"Already that time? Yes," Sirius cut him off swiftly, not wanting Peter to ruin his fun. "So, let's say we gather Prongs after dinner and head toward the Whomping Willow? You remember how to get past the branches, right?"

Peter made a noise in his throat. "Of course I do. You press the knot at the base of the trunk."

Sirius nodded solemnly, all the while laughing like mad in his mind.

"Right you are, Wormy. Now, let's go to dinner. I am simply famished," Sirius said, grabbing Peter's cuff this time and dragging him across the room to the great double-doors.

All the while, Sirius watched the boy leaning against the far wall out of the corner of his eye. He saw the triumphant sneer seep onto the pale face. The trap had been set - the bait would surely be taken.

Oh, how fun this would be . . .

* * *

_**Author's Note**: I love Sirius - he's my cookie. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this tiny treat - I haven't treated you since Christmas, and I felt that it was long overdue! I'm trying to get things moving with this story, because I don't think it will be going past twenty chapters. Maybe. Definitely not over twenty-five. Or, if you're French: vingt-cinq. _

_Oh, yeah, fifty house points to anyone who can guess who the 'lone student' was!! *I'll mention you next chapter's author note*_

_Well, gros bisous, mon amies! Voyage bien, le cher!_


	17. Chapter 16: Ominous Omen

_**Chapter Sixteen - Ominous Omen**_

Dumbledore breathed in the scent of his office, the thick books that lined the walls adding the musty smell of old parchment and dried ink. The silver instruments that occupied the empty spaces not taken over by the volumes whirred quietly, a soft undertone of mechanical conversation. It was a calm, studious atmosphere - lit only by the flickering candle that perched on the large oak desk in the centre of the room.

Wiping at a smudge on his half-moon spectacles, Dumbledore blinked in the dim light. His eyes, weakened with age, took in the blurred outlines of the many portraits that lined the walls. It was a strange relief to have the world so simplified - however brief a time it was.

Sighing deeply, he placed his now smudge-free glasses back on his crooked nose. Wanting to draw the actions out, he took his time opening the bottom drawer to his desk, neatly folding the cloth he'd been using before meticulously laying it in its home. That done, he slowly stood from his chair and crossed the room, coming to a stop at the far wall.

"All right, Albus?"

Glancing at the wall, Dumbledore was met with the questioning gaze of Armando Dippet. He stopped to consider the question - how to answer such a query? Deciding on a half-truth, Dumbledore waved his hand, feigning nonchalance. "Things have been a bit off, as I'm sure you've realised."

Dippet nodded, considering. "Yes," he said slowly, testing the words in his mind before speaking them. "However, I find that eavesdropping and spying are no good means of acquiring the whole truth. I've but pieces of a greater picture."

"As have I, Armando." Dumbledore exhaled, looking upward as he thought of the events of the past few days. "It seems that, no matter how much I search for answers, the question I'd been asking is never answered. Meanwhile, more problems arise and I'm left with more unsolved queries."

The man in the portrait eyed the current headmaster thoughtfully. "Perhaps that is just life, Albus. We are always searching for the answer to something."

Dumbledore shook his head, a frown marring his features. "This is different. It seems that I've interfered with something that shouldn't be touched - and something is happening. But, for the sake of my sanity, I cannot begin to fathom why I've done such a thing - and I think it is extremely important that I do."

Both men were silent for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Dumbledore stared at the floor, not even seeing the pattern grooved in the wood. A whirlwind of thoughts and theories flew through his mind faster than lightning, none slow enough for him to see. Suddenly, as quickly as the newly-released Cleansweep, one thought stuck. Everything became clear in a burst of understanding, and Dumbledore sucked in a breath as his eyes darted toward the portrait of Armando Dippet.

Dippet's brow was furrowed in a mixture of concern and curiosity. He opened his mouth to speak, but when Dumbledore put his hand up to stop him, Dippet shut his mouth with an audible snap. His eyes followed the now-pacing headmaster, trying to discern what the man had just seen.

Dumbledore's pacing came to an abrupt halt and he whirled around, deep purple robes billowing out around him as he did so. His expression was calmly resigned, as if he had accepted what was to happen knowing it couldn't be helped. His pale blue eyes bore into the dead headmaster, making him quirk his head in curiosity.

"So that's it, then," Dumbledore said quietly, eyes now moving downward to the thick, intricate frame that encased the painting. He followed the pattern as if seeing something else - the swirls and loops a labyrinth to be followed to the end, where a trove of answers awaited.

Dippet cautiously opened his mouth again, curiosity greater than courtesy. "Albus, if you please . . .?"

"My apologies, Armando," the headmaster answered, flipping his eyes upward once more to land on the man in the picture. "I've just found the answer to my question."

* * *

"I don't believe it."

Harry sighed, all the while trying not to smile at James' expression. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the creased map, holding it out to James.

James snatched it out of Harry's hand, pulling out the map he had in his own pocket. Then, mouth set in a grim line, he set the two Marauders Maps on his lap to compare.

"They're not the same," James said in awe, not caring about the authenticity of Harry's map anymore. "There's more to it. More of Hogwarts has been mapped out. What's that right there?"

Harry looked to where James pointed. "It's a passageway. It leads to Hogsmeade."

"Brilliant," James breathed, looking through the future map. He had to remember the differences, so he and the other Marauders could mark them up on their own copy.

Ginny grumbled. "Well, since the wand's out of the box, is it entirely necessary for us to stay in here? I'm beginning to forget what it looks like outside the Hospital Wing."

Lily glanced at her watch. "It is almost time for dinner . . ."

Ginny jumped up from her seat on the bed, smoothing out her sweater before she drew back the curtain. They all blinked at the sudden bright light streaming through the windows.

"Yeah, er, I think my blindness is a sign that it's time to leave."

James, being the first to get up, led the way out of the room.

* * *

Sirius clicked his tongue in impatience, eyes narrowed. Peter flushed, rubbing the back of his neck as he gathered up his school things which had, until very recently, been in his bag.

"Look, Wormtail, the entire point of my clever little plan was to witness the event. By dropping the entire contents of your bag on the floor, you delay my satisfaction."

"You act like I did it on purpose," Peter grumbled, stuffing his Transfiguration book in with his other things. "I thought you wanted to wait for Prongs, anyway."

Sirius let out a breath; the hair that just reached his eyes was blown to the side. "I wanted to give him a chance to make an appearance. I haven't seen him all day, though."

Peter didn't answer; he finally managed to stick his quill into his now-full bag and stood up, brushing the dust off his trousers as he did so.

He and Sirius were standing in the Entrance Hall, Sirius leaning against the wall and managing to look bored and excited at the same time while Peter straightened his shirt and hitched his bag over his shoulder. The hall was empty but for them and a few other students as most had gone to dinner. Sirius was keeping his grey eyes on the stringy, black-haired Slytherin standing near the front doors.

"What are we waiting for exactly?"

"You see Snivelly over there?" Sirius pointed to the lanky Slytherin and Peter turned his head to look, nodding when he caught sight of the boy. "We are waiting for him to give us the signal."

Peter's brow furrowed in confusion. "What signal? Why would we be waiting for a signal from _him_?"

Sirius grinned wolfishly. "He's the main event, my friend. The fun starts with his signal."

"Isn't that Prongs?"

Sirius turned to look to where Peter was pointing, forgetting to watch his quarry. James was just visible through the door leading to the staircases.

"Yes, I believe it is. I wonder where he's –"

"Where'd Snape go?"

Whipping around, Sirius searched the entire room in one sweep of his eyes and saw that Snape had disappeared through the front doors as soon as Sirius' attentions were elsewhere. Cursing, he grabbed Peter and ran through the doors and onto the grounds, stopping to make sure they were alone before letting go of Peter's shirt. He could see Snape slowly sneaking in the direction of the Whomping Willow.

"So, I guess we missed the signal," said Peter, smoothing his shirt for the second time that night.

"Get stuffed," Sirius growled. Mind racing, he weighed his options as quickly as he could.

* * *

"Where's he going?"

James turned his head from the retreating Sirius to look at Lily, Harry, and Ginny. They'd just entered the Entrance Hall when Sirius, towing a resisting Peter, hurried through the front doors.

"Dunno," he answered, turning back to see the end of Peter's robes disappear through the doors. "You lot go to dinner, I'm going to see what they're doing."

Despite everything that had happened recently, James couldn't resist the urge to know what the other Marauders where up to. Perhaps he had imagined it, but he was sure he had seen the spark of mischief in Sirius' eyes that always meant trouble.

James walked to the doors and pulled them open, stopping just outside the castle. It was getting dark; the sky was a deep, dark purple with a smattering of stars. The moon hung full and round in the sky, bathing the grounds in a soft glow. He glanced around, searching for Sirius and Peter, but he couldn't see them.

Suddenly, there was a rhythmic pounding against the ground behind him. He spun around just as something large and dark collided with him, knocking him to the ground. His eyes shot open and he found himself looking into a set of light grey eyes belonging to a black dog. The dog's tongue lolled out of its mouth as it looked at James, wagging its tail.

"You are such a git."

The dog barked, turning in a small circle once as if chasing its tail. James laughed quietly, grabbing Sirius' muzzle in his hand and turning his face toward him.

"D'you want to have the entire castle out here? Don't bark. Why did you come so close to the castle, anyway? D'you want to get caught?"

Sirius gave his head a shake before turning to look behind James. He whined and began to back up, eyes on whatever he had spotted. It wasn't until a hand touched James' shoulder that he turned around. Harry was looking between him and the dog; his hand was still on James' shoulder.

"He's . . . er . . . my dog," said James, not being able to come up with anything. He heard Sirius give a most un-doglike snort.

"Right," Harry said, eyes dancing in amusement.

"Right," James said slowly, narrowing his eyes at Harry.

Grinning, Harry turned to the dog. "I'd watch it if I were you, Sirius."

James and Sirius both stared at Harry, mouths open. Sirius glanced at James, biting on his tongue, before cocking his head in Harry's direction. James felt like doing the same.

"You know about that, too? Do know about . . . ?"

"You?"

James nodded. "I guess it's understandable. You are my . . . er . . . right."

He coughed slightly before turning to Sirius. "Why were you in such a hurry to get out here? Just wanted to lope around, did you?"

Sirius gave a start and jumped to his feet, whining. He bolted around the castle wall and came back a minute later, human and panting.

"I don't have time to explain fully. Just know that I have Snivellus out and about tonight, too."

"Excellent." James grinned appreciatively.

"It is. Now, if you want to witness the grand spectacle, I'd suggest you follow me and the rat."

With that, Sirius ran back around the wall. A minute later, the black dog darted around the corner, jaw firmly clamped on the tail of a rat.

"What was that about?"

James cringed at Lily's voice. He turned around and saw her standing by Ginny by the front doors. He looked at Harry, but Harry was watching Sirius run off, deep in thought.

"Is Black hiding a dog in the forest?"

James jumped on this. "Yes, but don't tell anyone. It'd kill him to lose his pet, Evans."

"We should follow him."

James looked at Harry; his eyes looked far away, as if he was focusing on something they couldn't see.

"Why?"

Harry shook his head, still watching Sirius. "It is full moon, you know."

James started, looking at the sky quickly. The moon hadn't even registered in his mind when they'd walked out onto the grounds. There it sat, however, nestled in the folds of black and blue. One could call it beautiful; to James, however, it was an ominous thing. The moon meant the loss of so many things: friendship, love, and brotherhood.

To the Marauders, the full moon meant the loss of Remus Lupin.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about that._

_To tell you the truth, I'm really itching to wrap this one up soon. I've been writing it on and off for a few years now and, in all honesty, it's not my best. However, I'm not just going to drop it and leave you hanging after sticking with me for so long. I reckon there'll be a few more chapters and then an ending. So, just a bit more waiting, mates._

_Recently, I've returned to writing Harry Potter fan fiction (as opposed to Twilight). I've got a few reasons for returning, but the two biggest are a) Harry Potter is my favourite series and I love writing it and b) Twilight has ticked me off. I'm very angry at the Twilight fandom presently and cannot read nor write anything about it without gritting my teeth, so . . . yeah. One night, while reading a comment war between Harry Potter and Twilight, I just snapped after reading one too many nasty comments directed toward HP and, in a rage-fueled frenzy, ripped everything Twilight related out of my sight. My workspace was not overly-Twilighted, mind, but there were a few knick-knacks that are now gone. I'm so angry, in fact, I'm debating on whether or not to wear a Harry Potter shirt to the New Moon midnight premiere. Just to rile the fad-following sheep up a bit._

_Anyway, just two things to share now: 1) I loved the Half-Blood Prince movie. Did you? 2) If you haven't, take a peek at _Socks, Skrewts, and Spectators _and leave me some feedback. That one took a good bit of time and effort and to have it snubbed is slightly saddening. Ah well. Look out for _Shattered _within the week, and maybe another chapter for Time._

_Cheers!  
RoW_


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